Fight or Flight
by Lily Hanson
Summary: When faced with the end of the world, one must choose between fight or flight. But the choice isn't clearly laid out when no matter which way you look, death is creeping up on you.
1. Bombs and Robots

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything_

_Author's Note: This story follows Forever Hold Your Peace. I suggest you read that first before starting this one as you may be lost or confused by some of the references._

* * *

A few months had passed since Kelly and Hunter had mended their relationship, if that's what one would call it. Kelly had kept her end of the bargain by refraining herself from contacting Hunter unless it was for work. She had to admit to scheduling him a little more to give herself more opportunities to be with him, but as time wore on she was finding herself more and more able to cope with what she had created.

Alex stood on a stepladder in Storm Chargers, holding up as banner while on the ground Olivia was eyeing it, and him, carefully to make sure it was attached properly and it was straight. She had an eye for decorating. She knew exactly what was needed in any room to make it look better, she knew what to do with furniture that didn't seem to have a place anywhere, and with a simple glance she could tell it anything was straight or crooked.

"Higher, Alex, higher!"

"I'm higher-ing it!" Alex groaned as he held his hand up as high as he possibly could. Olivia grunted.

"Well, higher it some more!"

Alex let both his arms drop back to his sides as he turned to the older girl, "Are you kidding me?" he asked her, his face showed he was dead serious now. "Do you think I have elastic arms or something? I can't get any higher than I already am!"

"You can stretch," Olivia shrugged.

Alex hopped off the stepladder and turned to Kelly. She was standing behind the counter eating her lunch and watching the two teens try and work together. She knew they were the best of friends, which made their bickering so comical to her.

"Kelly! She's trying to make me pull a muscle!" Alex tattled as he pointed to Olivia, making himself look like a two year old who was trying to get his sister into trouble. Olivia shook her head and smacked her own forehead with her hand. Alex could be such a child.

Kelly chuckled, "We've got a first aid kit somewhere; I don't see what the problem is."

Alex' jaw dropped. After working with Kelly for almost a year and one month longer than Olivia had, he expected his boss to take his side, at least once in a while. But Kelly always seemed to favour Olivia in battles like these. Alex was positive it was a girl thing.

Thankfully Hunter was around the corner. Having heard the entire playful argument, he decided to walk out and protect his own kind.

"Last I heard, first aid kits do nothing to help pulled muscles."

"It's called RICE, Hunter," Kelly smirked. She avoided making eye contact with Hunter. She had learned that that was one way she could get her emotions for him to surface. As a result of wanting to suppress said emotions she had mastered the ability of gazing at her dirty blonde mechanic without ever looking him in the eyes.

"Thanks, I already had lunch," Hunter said dismissively. He looked at Kelly and smirked.

Olivia placed her hand on her stomach, "Yeah, and I would like to keep mine down, so please stop with the flirting and will someone help Alex get higher-er."

"Your visions are stupid," Alex grumbled as he walked back up the stepladder. Hunter and Kelly exchanged looks at Olivia's commented about them flirting. While the young girl was aware of their different friendship and the conditions that went along with it, she, and Alex for that matter, continued to refer to their interactions as flirting.

"No, Alex! Higher! Stand on the tip of your toes if you have to!"

"I've got a solution," Hunter smirked. He rushed over while Alex stepped back down. The older man grabbed the stepladder and carried it to the back room. Alex, Olivia and Kelly all leaned over to watch as Hunter tossed the stepladder in the bin.

"Hey!" Kelly frowned.

"We get a new stepladder!" Hunter said as he walked back into the room. He dusted off his hands and looked at the two teens, "Or, better yet, our boss can invest in an actual ladder!"

"Ooh!" Alex smiled. He turned to Kelly and started begging, "Please, please, please!"

"No," Kelly bit. She looked at Hunter, "Why the hell did you say that? Now he's going to be asking me for a ladder all week!"

"So buy him one?" Hunter shrugged.

"I can't! He'll fall and hurt himself! And don't get me started on what Dustin's going to do when he sees a full sized ladder in the store!"

"That's their problem," Hunter said.

Kelly shook her head, "Oh, no. No it's not! If they fall, I'm the one who's going to have to take care of the consequences! I'll have to drive someone to the hospital."

"C'mon, Madam! A real ladder would be so cool!" Alex said. He was bouncing up and down with excitement. Olivia chuckled as she placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to hold him down.

"See! Now he's not going to stop!" Kelly frowned to Hunter.

"Ignore him."

"Easy for you to say," Kelly scoffed. "You only see these kids three nights a week! I have to take care of them the rest of the time!"

"Okay, mom, dad," Olivia started, interrupting the back and forth between her boss and Hunter, "Alex and I are just going to work on something else for tomorrow's big day."

"But I like the banner," Alex pouted. He turned to Olivia, "It's got a dirt bike on it. I like dirt bikes."

Olivia grabbed some signs from the couches, "You take these and stick them up on the windows."

Alex pulled the signs from their pouches and read them aloud as he walked to the front of the store.

"Factory Blue's Blake Bradley coming to Storm Chargers January 20th," he sighed loudly and shook his head as he read, "I don't get what the big deal is. I've met this guy. It's not like he's a god or something."

Hunter laughed at the younger boy before Kelly pulled him into the back room. Hunter held his hands up and pulled away from her.

"Rule violation!" he called out.

Kelly shook her head, "Don't you ever make an announcement like that in front of Alex without talking to me first."

"What's the big deal? He's distracted! It's not like it's the end of the world," Hunter said. Kelly rolled her eyes and was about to turn away when a loud _whirsh_ sound could be heard from outside, followed by an explosion, the ground shaking, people screaming and an alarm blaring. Kelly and Hunter lost their footing for a moment but the shaking stopped quickly and they were on their feet again. As they tried to process what was going on, the lights begin to flicker and the screaming intensified.

Though he was years out of practice Hunter's Ranger instincts kicked in. He grabbed Kelly and pulled her along as he rushed to the front of the store. Another explosion could be heard over the city wide alarm blaring and the ground shook again as a result, causing Hunter and Kelly to stumble.

"Alex! Libby!" Kelly screamed, trying to find her young co-workers.

"Over here!" Olivia called, waving at her seniors from the window. She pointed outside, "What's that?"

While Kelly pulled Alex and Olivia away from the window so she could make sure nothing happened to them, Hunter stepped forward to check out what was going on outside. His eyes widened as he noticed an army of robots marching down the streets, holding up guns or lasers and shooting at anything that moved. Countless people were hit by the robots and more were already on the ground. Smoke filled the air as buildings caught fire trapping people inside. Animals, like people, were running around everywhere, trying to find a safe spot to hide from the robots.

"They look like robot Kalzacks," Hunter said just before a robot fired a laser at the window. He quickly turned and shielded Kelly, Olivia and Alex from the flying glass and pulled them to the ground to stay out of sight.

When the glass stopped falling Alex made it back up to this hands and knees and began crawling to the front counter. Olivia quickly followed him, looking for cover.

Kelly turned to Hunter, "For once they have the right idea," she said.

Hunter nodded and he and Kelly scurried their way over, seeking shelter along with Alex and Olivia. When Hunter thought they were safe he reached into his shirt, pulling out a necklace.

"Not the end of the world, huh, Hunter?" Kelly scoffed. Hunter shushed her and started tapping on his necklace.

"Good luck charm?" Alex asked. Hunter shook his head.

"It's not working!"

"Really? You think?" Olivia snapped, losing her patience out of pure fear. Suddenly, Hunter's necklace came to life. There was a faint glow coming from it, as well as radio static. Hunter started yelling into it.

"Cam? Tori? Blake? Anyone?" he called. "Shane? Dustin!"

Kelly, Olivia and Alex all took a moment to exchange looks. To them, Hunter had already inhaled too much smoke.

"We are so going to die," Olivia groaned and she dropped her head on Kelly's shoulder. The red head wrapped her arm around the young girl and held her close.

After a while of trying, Hunter managed to get someone through the necklace he wore. No one could understand what the voice was saying, but they were sure it was a human voice.

"That's just freaky," Alex pointed out, eyeing the necklace suspiciously, as if it was going to hurt him. Hunter shook his head.

"I don't get it!" he shouted, slamming his hand on the bottom of the counter, which as this point rested just above his head. "This is one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the world!"

"Ego, much?" Olivia muttered.

"Hunter, can you tell us what the hell you're trying to accomplish?" Kelly demanded. If she was trapped in her own store with two kids and a nutcase, she wanted to know.

"This isn't a necklace," Hunter started by explaining. He held up the necklace, which was still making strange noises and a voice could still be heard, but not understood. "It's a communication device. Cam made one for all us Ninja Rangers in case there was ever any trouble. We only had to use it once."

Hunter looked around as he finished his explanation. Eyes were wide and there was definitely an expression of shock on everyone's faces.

Olivia whined loudly, "We really are going to die!" she grabbed Kelly by the upper arms and started shaking her boss, "Please tell me you know what to do! I'm too young to die!"

"I'm even younger than her!" Alex shouted as he grabbed Kelly.

Kelly continued to look at Hunter, "You said us Ninja Rangers. Are you trying to tell us you were a Power Ranger?"

Hunter nodded, "I was hoping you were never going to have to find out."

"You believe him?" Olivia asked. While Kelly tried to keep the teens settled, Hunter poked his head out from under the counter. He saw the streets were cleared of robots.

"C'mon," he said, pulling his co-workers out of hiding. "If the others are smart, they'll know where to meet us!"

"And where is that?" Kelly asked as she and the teens followed Hunter into the streets. When they stepped outside, all four had a look around. Bodies were strewn everywhere. Some alive, some dead and some were totally helpless. The buildings that had been on fire only moments ago were now reduced to rubble and ash as a result of the never ending explosions that were heard continuously as the four hid inside Storm Chargers, and even now.

"Something tells me we're not in Blue Bay Harbour anymore," Olivia breathed as she tried to take in the scene. Alex grabbed her hand.

"You watch way too many movies," he said. "It's obvious this is some sort of alien attack! They're finally coming!"

"Come on!" Hunter grunted as he tried to pull the kids and Kelly to safety. Right now it seemed like their only chance of survival was to run. Ninja Ops was the best place to run to.

At least, that's what Hunter hoped.


	2. Ninja Ops

Olivia clung onto Kelly as if her life depended on it. Given the circumstances though, the idea wasn't as farfetched as it would have been any other day. No matter where she and the others went, dead or injured bodies were scattered. Twice, now, the group of four had to hide from robot-looking-Kalzacks. Once in Storm Chargers and another time when they made it to a creepy looking forest.

While Olivia was terrified, Alex couldn't have been any more excited. He was marching alongside Hunter, asking various questions about his past as a Power Ranger, as well as questions about where they were headed and how Hunter had managed to hide a black and crimson leather ninja uniform under what Hunter called "civilian clothing".

Finally, the group reached a waterfall. Hunter stopped just before the edge of the path and turned to the trio following him.

"We're almost there," he said.

"It looks like a dead end," Kelly frowned. She examined every direction, including the one they had just come from. "You're not leading us to a dead end, are you?"

"I know Kelly screwed up your wedding day, but if this is some plan to get back at her, can you please not include us?" Olivia asked fearfully.

"If I wanted to get back at Kelly, do you really think I would kill hundreds of people?"

"Those people were really dead?" Alex frowned, the news finally sinking in. He turned to the two girls, noticing their terror. This wasn't a simulation or a game. This seemed to be real. He looked back at Hunter, "But, you're a Ranger, you're supposed to save them… right?"

"Ladies first," Hunter said, motioning to the lake before them. Kelly stepped forward and let go of Olivia. She reached down to touch the water with her hand and then glared at Hunter.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Just trust me," Hunter said. He saw no one was about to take the lead, so he stepped onto the water first. To everyone's surprise, he stayed afloat. Alex' jaw dropped and his excitement was back. He followed Hunter and carefully stepped onto the water. His eyes widened as he turned to the girls.

"This is amazing!"

"Alex, be careful!" Kelly called to him, but Alex was ignoring her. He started running around, enjoying the sensation of floating on water.

Kelly turned her attention back to Olivia as she took the seventeen year old's hand. Slowly, she helped Olivia step onto the water. Olivia cringed as her foot touched the water, but like Hunter, Alex and Kelly before her, she too stayed afloat.

Hunter grabbed Alex' shirt before he went too far and started pulling the boy towards the water fall. Alex struggled to keep his balance while Hunter pulled and then pushed him into the falling water. He screamed as he fell forward and suddenly disappeared into a portal.

"HUNTER!" Kelly shouted. Hunter turned to her and shrugged.

"He should be fine," he smiled.

"Should?"

"Would you like to go after him?" Hunter said. He cocked an eyebrow as Kelly took a step back. He let out a long sigh after a moment of hesitation. He took her hand, "Trust me. I might still be mad at you, but I would never do anything to put you or the kids in any danger."

Kelly looked at the waterfall and then at Hunter. He nodded and she felt a little more confident. She turned to Olivia and saw the girl was mortified and shaking from the terror. Knowing she needed to stay calm and brave, Kelly walked towards the portal and disappeared.

Hunter took Olivia's hand, "C'mon, it's safer in there, I promise."

Behind Olivia and about a mile from where she and Hunter were standing, another bomb dropped. Olivia jumped into his arms and he quickly ran towards the portal.

When he and Olivia appeared on the other side, Alex and Kelly were standing there, waiting for them. But the two weren't waiting by choice. They were stuck in awe as they looked around at what used to be some kind of Academy. They could see the remains of what they believed were a tall building, and the vast land before it was completely destroyed. Red, blue, and yellow flags waved pathetically in the wind and the once green grass was gone completely. The land was now covered in dark dirt and sand and, in some places, glass.

"What is this place?" Kelly asked as Hunter appeared.

"It used to be the Wind Ninja Academy," Hunter answered her. He looked around, "I'm thinking whatever hit Blue Bay Harbour hit this place too."

"Now where do we go?" Alex asked the Crimson Ranger. Hunter began to move forward, searching for the doorway that would take him to ninja ops. With any luck it would still be intact.

He brushed the debris from the top of the wooden trapdoor and pulled it open. Inside he could see it was completely black. Not a good sign considering he was hoping to meet his baby brother and the rest of his friends here.

"Come," Hunter waved the others over and carefully helped them inside Ninja Ops. Alex and Olivia looked around in awe. Kelly was next. Once she was inside she turned to Hunter who was right behind her.

"Should I be mad?" she asked him. "How long have you guys been hiding behind a waterfall?"

Hunter pressed his hand against a keypad on the wall and suddenly the room lit up. This was a good sign at least. It meant that Ninja Ops was still intact and until he could figure out where the next safe place was, this would have to do.

"This is called Ninja Ops," Hunter began to explain. "This is where Shane, Dustin, and Tori were trained in the ways of the Wind Ninjas and where Blake and I agreed to team up with them to defeat Lothor. This was the base of operations for the Ninja Storm Power Rangers and in this moment is it serving as a safe house for the four of us."

"So, like, we're standing where the Power Rangers used to stand?" Olivia asked.

"I still can't believe you're a Power Ranger!" Alex grinned. He walked to Cam's computer and started toying around with the buttons.

"I can't believe I never figured it out!" Kelly frowned. She glared at Hunter. The Crimson Ranger shrugged and laughed.

"C'mon. You had to have some clue? Rangers aren't as subtle as they think, really. I mean, they wear their colours all the time, they disappear when there is danger, and I don't think I can count the number of times there's been trouble and the six of us have run towards it!"

"This is insane!" Alex shouted happily. Hunter turned to the boy and was surprise to see he already had the machine up and running. He quickly rushed over.

"Alex!" he slammed his hand down on the keyboard and glared at the young boy, "These aren't toys! One wrong move and you could do some serious damage!"

"People are already dying," Alex shrugged. He pointed to the monitor. When Hunter had slammed his hand down, he had hit the perfect combination of buttons that used to allow Cam to tap into security cameras all over the city. On the screen, robots were still stomping around town, this time led by bigger robots. Back in the Ranger days, Hunter would have referred to them as Lothor's generals. In fact, they seemed to act a lot like the alien generals Lothor used to work with. One was walking around aimlessly and pestering the other, who didn't seem to know much more, but was still slightly more threatening than the bouncy robot. "I don't see how much harm I can actually do."

"Are you kidding me?" Hunter heard Cam's voice shouting as the Green Ranger and Sensei Watanabe arrived in Ninja Ops. Cam raced over to the computer and quickly shut it off. He looked at Kelly, Alex and Olivia and then turned his stern gaze over to Hunter. "You brought them here?"

Hunter nodded, "Cam, you've met Kelly before. And these are her two student employees, Alex and Libby."

"Nice to meet you," Cam nodded politely before glaring at Hunter once more, "In case you forgot, this is a private secret base."

"As opposed to the public secret bases," Olivia frowned. She turned to Hunter, "Are we not allowed to be here."

"In normal circumstances Hunter would not have been allowed to bring you," Sensei Watanabe nodded, "However, given the conditions and the attacks happening all over the world, I have no problem with Hunter bringing his friends."

"Kelly's not a friend," Hunter pressed.

"Dudes, you made it!" Dustin said as he and Shane rushed in, looking ragged. He had been so afraid something had happened to his friends and was relieved to see them all alive and well.

"Sensei," Shane said, bowing slightly as he greeted his elder, "Do you know what's going on?"

"Bombs and robotic invasions are happening all over the world," Cam answered. "Countries are falling fast and people are being murdered in the streets."

"By robots," Alex added, "They were right outside Storm Chargers. Where did they come from?"

"I'll let you know when I find out," Cam said. He sat down in his chair and started working on the computer, this time without Alex fiddling around on it. Hopefully he could find some information about what was happening.

Hunter turned to Sensei, "The morphers aren't going to start magically working for us, are they?" he asked. Sensei shook his head sadly.

"I'm afraid not, Hunter. This time we're defenceless."

"And we're two Rangers down anyways," Shane pointed out. "Has anyone seen or heard from Tori and Blake since the bombs started falling?"

No one answered.

Cam spun around in his chair to face the others. He had a sad look on his face.

"Nothing seems to be working," he said. "The security tapes are failing, almost one by one, and I can't access anything. The internet, the database…. It's like it's all been fried."

"You can't track Tori and Blake?"

"How do you track people?" Olivia asked. Hunter pulled out his necklace, reminding her of the strange piece of technology.

"There's no way to track anything," Cam shook his head. "Anyways, there might not be a point."

Alex walked up beside him to have another look at the computer screen. Curiosity got to him again and he pressed another button. One window came up, displaying the live footage from the security cameras that were still functioning. The video was a little blurry, but Alex was thankful for that fact.

Cam turned around when he noticed Alex was playing with the computer. He shook his head and was about to scold the boy who seemed to be more annoying that Dustin used to be when he saw the footage as well.

"They're all dead," he muttered. Alex backed away as he heard the words being spoken.

Hunter stepped forward, "What?"

Cam flipped though the different cameras each had a different view of the city. While he was missing a lot of Blue Bay Harbour, he had seen enough to make a fair assumption.

"All the bodies… they're all dead," Cam repeated. "I don't see a single life form in Blue Bay Harbour."

"You mean aside from the crazy robots?" Olivia asked. She was hugging herself, clearly afraid of what was happening over her head. While the bombs were far in the distance, every once in a while she could hear one exploding. To make matters worse, she could see some falling on the security footage.

"Robots aren't alive, Lib," Alex stated. Kelly glared at the boy.

"Alex…"

He turned to his boss. Kelly glared at him and nodded her head in Olivia's direction.

"We're all scared," he told him, "its okay. We don't need you making it worse."

"Sorry."

Hunter leaned over Cam's shoulder and took over on the computer. He needed to look for himself to see if his ex-fiancée and his baby brother were still alive.

"Hunter…" Cam started.

"They have to be here," Hunter said. He looked at Cam, "Can you check the Academy grounds? Maybe they're already here?"

"They would have been here by now," Shane whispered sadly. Dustin nodded his head. While he agreed with Shane's statement, he hoped it wasn't true. Tori and Blake would be able to survive this. Tori had paid a lot of attention in Ninja survival class and Blake, while no longer officially a Ninja, was still one of the best.

Cam turned back to the computer screen. There had to be something that would help him. As he searched through the computer he could hear a faint voice talking through his speakers. It wasn't a loud voice, so he had to lean in closer to hear what it was saying.

Suddenly, Dustin heard a different noise that caught his attention and it was coming from the other side of the trap door. He rushed to the entrance, while still staying safely inside Ninja Ops.

"Wait!" he shouted and then proceeded to silence everyone else. "I… I hear something. Maybe it's them."

The room fell silent for a moment and everyone tried to listen to the noise. It didn't take long before they all realised that the noise was making a loud whistling sound.

"Dustin!" Shane shouted as he grabbed his best friend and pulled him away from the entrance. The ground shook, gently at first, but as the whistling sound grew louder, the shaking became more intense. Before anyone had any idea what was happening they all felt themselves being thrown into the air. At the same time they were blinded by a bright light and loud explosions pierced their ears.


	3. Road to Corinth Begins

Kelly coughed loudly as she came too. Thinking she was dead, she expected to see white, fluffy clouds and Angels dancing as she opened her eyes.

Unfortunately she found herself in hell. Fire was burning all around her and the smell of burning flesh overwhelmed her. As she pushed herself up, rubble and dirt fell from on top of her.

Her ears rang loudly and it took quite a while for her eyes to adjust, but Kelly was back on her feet and looking around in record time. She rubbed her ears, trying to get rid of the ringing.

"Guys!" she shouted, but her voice wasn't loud at all. She scanned the area around her. It all seemed dead to her. Nothing was left standing. Not Ninja Ops or anything inside it. The destroyed Academy that had still partially been standing when she had arrived had vanished completely.

Suddenly she felt someone grab her arms and pull her.

"We have to run!" she heard, but it was very faint. She turned and noticed it was Hunter pulling her.

"What about the others?" she shouted.

"Just… come," Hunter said without looking at her. Something had happened, she could tell.

Kelly expected to be in a hole in the ground. After all, Ninja Ops was underground, but it seemed that whatever had hit the ground hadn't hit Ninja Ops directly. It had destroyed almost everything in sight, including the earth. There was a giant, gaping hole, indicating ground zero and it expanded the hole that would have been Ninja Ops. The ground all around Kelly and Hunter was now flat. The once beautiful Wind Ninja Academy was now a perfect imitation of a battle field.

Hunter quickly yanked Kelly into a shelter that was obviously man-made. He placed her on the ground gently and sat down before her. Kelly could tell he was checking over her for injury.

"Are you okay?" he rushed out. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Kelly said, waving him off. She could see what made him a great Ranger, though. He took care of her even if he was technically still mad at her. She looked him in the eyes (while still avoiding actually looking into his eyes) so he knew she was being honest. Then, she turned her attention to what was around her.

Hiding in the shelter was Shane, Dustin, Cam and Alex. They were all nursing their own wounds, but considering what they had just survived they all seemed okay. While Kelly could figure it out on her own, she still needed to ask the question.

"What was that?"

"A bomb hit," Cam told her.

"Looks like Ninja Ops is out of the question, now," Shane breathed. It was easy to see he was frustrated. "What do we do now?"

"At the last minute I heard something," Cam whispered. He looked up at all his friends. "Corinth."

"Dude, I don't think we can book a flight to Greece," Dustin frowned. "The world kinda blew up."

"It's a domed city," Cam explained, though he was rather surprised Dustin knew where Corinth was. "It might be our only hope. I think it's here, in the US."

"What gives you that idea?" Shane asked. Alex crawled forward. There wasn't much room to move in the shelter and even if there was, he leg was bleeding through a bandage that had been wrapped around it. It was next to impossible for him to stand and walk. Crawling was the easier way to move.

"We might as well try," he shrugged. "We're sitting ducks if we stay here."

Kelly looked at her employee, though now she could only assume he was simply a young friend. If Ninja Ops, as well as the rest of Blue Bay Harbour was gone, then Storm Chargers must have been destroyed too.

"Libby," she whispered and Alex caught her words. He lowered his head sadly.

"Um, we found her," his voice was dark. "She was… um…"

"Alex?" Kelly frowned. She tried to move in closer to him but Hunter pushed her down. All she was allowed to do was look at him.

"We found her a few feet from Dustin and Shane," Alex said. "And… um…"

"I saw another part of her when I found you," Hunter finished. He looked at Kelly sadly. "I highly doubt she managed to survive."

"So… she's… dead?" Kelly choked.

"So is my father," Cam nodded sadly. "Given what's happening, I think it's fair to assume that anyone we know who isn't with us is dead."

"What?" Hunter turned to Cam with a sombre look. Shane and Dustin surprised to hear Cam's assumptions. Not only was Cam referring to Olivia and Sensei, but Tori and Blake as well.

Cam ignored them, though and started making his way out of the shelter. Once he was outside he turned to the boys and Kelly. He held out a hand, "We should start moving. I have no idea where Corinth is."

Hunter was next to exit the shelter, but he didn't accept Cam's hand as help. He pushed himself to his feet and before anyone else could exit the shelter he started making his way across the wastelands alone.

Kelly grabbed Alex and pulled him out of the shelter. She still felt responsible for his safety and he was going to stick close to her so she could keep an eye on him. She had already lost one of her young friends. She was determined to keep this one alive.

"C'mon," she whispered to him as she helped him to his feet. Alex looked at her, then down at his bleeding leg. He looked back up and saw Hunter was headed for the portal that had brought them here, to the Ninja Academy. Suddenly, the young boy started limping.

"Hunter! Wait!"

Kelly's head dropped back in frustration. For a boy who couldn't put any weight on one leg, he sure was moving fast, and Hunter didn't appear like he was ready to stop.

"Alex!" she cried, trying to catch his attention before he got too far. "Alexander, get back here!"

"I'll come back!" Alex shouted to her, "We can't leave him alone!"

Kelly grumbled as she turned to the shelter. Shane was out and Dustin was still inside. The Yellow Ranger was cradling his ribs, making it hard for him to move around and even harder to be pulled from the shelter. Kelly knew of Hunter's stubborn nature and there was going to be no stopping him. She was sure Cam, Shane and Dustin were ready to follow once they were all out, but she couldn't wait the amount of time it was going to take for Dustin to be pulled.

With one final look at her friends, Kelly took off, running after Alex in hopes of bringing him back to the rest of the group. Hunter was a ninja. It was obvious he knew how to survive on his own if something were to happen. He made his own choices and this was one of them. Alex was just a kid. He should be with a group of people who could decide what was best for him.

"Kelly!" Shane shouted as he watched her run off. He turned to look at Cam, but the resident genius could only shake his head.

"We'll catch up," he assured Shane. "The kid's limping. He can't get too…"

"Dudes," Dustin voiced suddenly as another whistling sound could be heard. Shane and Cam slowly looked up in the sky and noticed another bomb was headed right for them. They cursed under their breaths as they yanked Dustin out from the shelter, ignoring his screams. He could survive pain, but they both doubted he would survive a direct hit from a bomb.

Kelly, Alex and Hunter, who were right near the portal when he heard the whistling, all turned around to see what was going on. Hunter saw the bomb was headed right for his friends and teammates and turned to run back. Alex grabbed onto his shirt as he ran by and tried to stop Hunter. He managed to slow him down by acting as an anchor, but Hunter was determined to push the young boy off and try to save his friends.

Kelly started running in the other direction, towards Hunter and Alex, in hopes of getting as far away from the bomb as possible. It was a miracle she had survived one hit, she wasn't taking her chances with this second bomb.

As she rushed by Hunter and Alex she grabbed them both. With her momentum she managed to slam them down on the ground just as the bomb hit. She waited for the heat and shock waves to hit her. Before they could, though, Kelly felt someone grab her.

Next thing she knew, she was looking around at a barren wasteland, a land that was even worse than the Academy grounds. Suddenly, a body fell next to her. Kelly screamed and jumped into a seated position.

"Ow…" the body muttered in both a joking tone, but also in a tone fill with pain. "That hurt."

"Alex," Kelly called softly as she leaned over to her young friend. She placed her hand on his back and shook his gently, "Alex…"

"I'm alive," she heard him whispered. "Don't bother asking if I'm okay."

"He'll be fine," a voice behind Kelly said and again the red head jumped. She heard a laugh, next, but this laugh was not one of amusement. She turned around to see who the voice belonged to and found Hunter pacing behind her and Alex, kicking the sand and dirt in frustration.

"Hunter…"

"We're fucking screwed!" Hunter screamed and he accidentally kicked the sand towards Kelly and Alex. Alex buried his hand in his arms while Kelly shielded her face. Hunter laughed again, "I'm so fucking screwed. I'm stuck with you two."

"Where are we?" Kelly asked him as she looked around. There was no sign of life or civilisation with the exception of scattered debris all across the wastelands. Hunter shrugged but was still clearly frustrated.

"Do you think I have a fucking clue? I try to save your lives and we end up here!"

"Why are you so angry?" Alex coughed as he lifted his head. Hunter returned to pacing.

"Why am I so angry?" he asked, repeating Alex' question because he couldn't believe the boy had asked him that. "Why do you think I'm angry? My brother's been pronounced dead! Tori's probably dead with him and I just watched all my other friends get blown up! The only people I manage to save are an annoying kid and the woman who ruined my life!"

"I'm sorry?" Kelly frowned as she got to her feet. She stood toe-to-toe against Hunter, "You saved us?"

"Yeah! Duh!"

"If it hadn't of been for me and Alex trying to stop you, you would have exploded like everyone else!"

Hunter scoffed, "Whatever."

Kelly glared at the taller man. She looked him in the eyes while avoiding true eye contact. Hunter was sure she was going to scream at him, and he welcomed it. But Kelly pulled away before she could say – or scream – anything. She turned around and pulled Alex to his feet. She wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders to help him stand straight with his bad leg.

"Mope all you want," Kelly said, "But until we're safe, it's useless to worry about everyone else. I'm finding Corinth."

Hunter watched her walk for a moment and honestly debated whether or not he should follow her. The odds of finding Corinth were slim and without food or water it was likely they were going to die a painful death before they ever found any glimmer of hope.

As Alex walked with Kelly he pointed out a line in the sand. He could tell, simply by looking at it, that the line was a motorcycle track. It started far in the distance, behind him, Kelly and even Hunter, and continued in a relatively straight line towards what would have been a horizon. Now it was just grey, smog-filled fog that touched the barren lands of god-knows-where.

Kelly shrugged her shoulders, "It's the best lead we've got."

She turned around to face Hunter, "Are you coming? Or are you going to let all the Power Rangers die?"

Hunter reluctantly started to follow, but kept his distance from Kelly and Alex. He knew they were walking towards nowhere, but at least this was going to give him something to do in his final days.

He just wished he had saved a different group of people; Blake and Tori, maybe, or Cam, Shane and Dustin. At least he would have died with his friends and family instead of with Kelly and Alex.


	4. Old Friends

Days had passed, but to the trio traveling through the barren wastelands it seemed like years. They had been following the same motorcycle track since they had initially found it, but all three of them were starting to think they had chosen the wrong direction.

Alex was growing weaker and weaker as the hours went by. He could no longer feel his foot and was sure that if he ever made it to any kind of hospital or doctor's office they would have to amputate. While under normal circumstances he would be horrified at that prospect, right now it seemed like a dream. He was willing to sacrifice a foot, or even his entire leg, if it meant that he made it to Corinth city.

Somewhere along the line, Hunter had taken Alex off Kelly's hands. While they had managed to find water that was somewhat clean on their journey to Corinth, they had yet to find food. Hunter had learned that the average human could survive about four to six weeks without food. He had never put that to the test, but if it was true, then he, Kelly and Alex were only at the start of what would be a long and painful death.

The lack of food did take its toll, though. Alex was feeling weaker and weaker every second. Thankfully he continued to keep a high moral. If anything, his assumptions about amputation were keeping his spirits up, as he continued to imagine himself in a hospital being taken care of. Hunter found this story to be quite odd every time Alex began to tell it, but he let the boy go on. Hope was one of the only things that was still within reach. He wasn't going to pull that away from him.

Until this point, Hunter was doing okay. Sensei Omino had trained many of his well achieving students to survive in the most brutal conditions. While Hunter had never gone this long without food, he had done a couple of days at a time. As long as he continued to envision finding food, he found the hunger pains weren't as bad. He had fooled his mind into believing that there was a restaurant just around the corner with a special table reserved just for him.

Kelly was trailing behind, though. Like Hunter and Alex she was feeling weak and tired. Unfortunately, unlike Alex, she wasn't being assisted by anyone, and unlike Hunter she didn't have prior training. The closest experience she had ever had to traveling through the wastelands was camping when she was a child.

To make matters worse, the air was warm and thick. Hunter was sweating and had long since shed the top portion of his leather ninja uniform. Every so often, though, Alex would wave his hand back and forth in front of Hunter's face to cool him off. It provided some amusement for Alex, too, as Hunter's hair's flapping seemed to entertain the young boy.

Like he had been doing every so often, Hunter quickly glanced over his shoulder to make sure they weren't a woman down. Unfortunately, to Hunter it felt like they were the only three humans left on the planet and if the human race was to continue, Kelly was their only hope at reproduction. As mad as he was, he needed to make sure she was alive. His idea didn't seem that farfetched.

Unfortunately the odds that his kids were gingers were now slightly elevated.

This time when Hunter looked over his shoulder, he didn't see Kelly. Sometime between now and the last time he had looked over his shoulder she had either fallen so far behind she was out of sight, or she had collapsed.

Alex looked over his shoulder as well when he saw Hunter had stopped. He too noticed Kelly was missing.

"Great job, Mr. Chivalry," Alex joked. It was the only way he could keep his moral up. "You're in charge of saving one woman and you fail on day four."

Hunter gently lowered Alex to the ground, careful to elevate the young boy's foot so he wouldn't lose anymore blood. While the bleeding had stopped days ago, there was still a chance that it could start up again. The wound was still way too open for Hunter's liking.

When Alex was comfortable, Hunter started retracing his steps at a moderate pace. He couldn't run because he would be losing too much energy (something that was very valuable if he hoped to survive), but he needed to act quickly to find Kelly.

Suddenly, for the first time in what felt like years, Hunter heard a stranger's voice.

"She's still breathing."

"Barely."

There was another strange voice. It seemed to be coming from the debris of a fighter plane that had crashed. On the plane was the marking of an eagle with the number one printed in the middle.

As Hunter made his way around the plane he found Kelly as well as six others kneeling over her. It took him a while, but he recognised three of the faces. He had only met them once, but they had all made such a strong impact on his life.

"Casey? Theo? Lily?"

The three in question looked up. Only Lily smiled. She recognised Hunter. Theo and Casey had a perplexed look on their face. They knew they had seen Hunter before, they just couldn't figure out when and where.

Oddly enough, the first thought to cross Hunter's mind was one of relief. Now he had options if he needed to repopulate the world. Neither Lily nor the other woman she was with were red heads, which was also a bonus.

"Hunter," Lily answered him and just like that, Theo and Casey seemed to recognise him.

One of the other men spoke up. He appeared thin and a little ragged, but Hunter had an assumption that was by choice. The man pointed to Kelly.

"Does she belong to you?" he asked.

Hunter grumbled, "Unfortunately."

"Well, she's not dead," the other strange man, this one blond, said.

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"I take it this is Kelly," Lily smirked. Hunter furrowed his brow as he turned to her. She was good.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Lily shrugged. "But she looks too young to be your mom, too old to be your daughter, and unless you really hated your sister, I doubt you would be thankful she died."

"She could have been my ex-fiancée," Hunter said.

Lily shrugged again, "Lucky guess."

The ragged man had been carrying a backpack with him. Hunter watched, almost in awe as he pulled it from his shoulders. He was struggling to carry a young boy and he was almost twice as big as this man. He couldn't believe this relatively thin man had survived in these conditions while carrying a bag.

"Emergency kit," the man said to Hunter as he noted Hunter's confusion. "I always make sure to take it when I think I'll be going without food for ages."

When he heard this man had an emergency kit, Hunter quickly looked back to where he had left Alex.

"You wouldn't happen to have a first aid kit in that bag, would you?" he asked. "There's a boy not too far from here who…"

The blond man reached into the bag and pulled one out.

"RJ'll help your friend here. Take me to the boy. I've had some experiences with injuries."

"Thanks, I'm Hunter by the way."

"Dominic," the blond man said. He pointed to his other friends, "This is RJ, Fran… and I guess you already know Casey, Theo and Lily."

"Are you headed to Corinth?" Theo asked Hunter. The Crimson Ranger nodded.

"Yeah. Well, we hope that's where we're going. For all I know we're headed anywhere but."

Dominic patted Hunter on the back, indicating he was ready to treat Alex. Hunter led his new friend over to where he had left the young man.

RJ pulled his water bottle from his bag and opened it up. Gently, he pressed the bottle against Kelly's lips and slowly poured the water in her mouth while Fran held her upright so she wouldn't drown. After a few seconds, Kelly began to cough. RJ pulled the bottle away and turned to Casey.

"There should still be pizza in my bag," he said. Casey reached in and grabbed the first wrapped piece he could find. He was about to offer it to Kelly when RJ caught sight of it.

"One without bananas, thank you very much," he frowned to Casey. The Red Ranger put the slice back into the bag and pulled out another.

"Bananas on pizza?" Kelly managed to say as a new slice was offered to one, one that was banana free. Theo leaned in and whispered to her.

"Don't get him started."

"Or Lily, for that matter," Fran added. "She does a good impression."

"Eat up," RJ encouraged her. "Don't worry. There's enough food in there to last all of us a while."

"There's a hungry teenage boy with us," Kelly said.

"Casey eats more, trust me," Theo smirked as he turned to his friend.

Kelly had never devoured anything as quickly as that slice of pizza. Before her brain could register she had eaten food, it was already gone and not a crumb was spared.

"Another satisfied customer," RJ smiled to himself. Casey pulled out a couple more slices.

"I'll offer these to Hunter and the boy," he said as he got up to follow Hunter and Dom.

Fran sat beside Kelly, "We understand you're headed to Corinth."

"Hopefully," Kelly nodded. "I'm really starting to doubt we'll make it."

"Well, you'll make it a few days longer with us helping you," Theo pointed out. He held his hand out for Kelly, "What do you say we make this trip together?"

"Safety in numbers, I guess," Kelly said. She looked at the group of people, "And we can probably use a few new faces. Normally I can put up with Alex, but he's been pissing me off for three days, now. And Hunter only talks to me when he needs something."

"How about we rest, though?" RJ suggested. "We can meet up with Casey, Dom and your two friends and find some shelter for the night. I haven't heard any explosions or seen robots or bombs in a while, so it's probably safe to relax."

"We won't know when we get another chance like this. Whoever started this attack obviously doesn't care about humans. If there is a Corinth City, it's probably under attack," Fran said. "I have a strange feeling that if we make it, the homestretch will be our biggest challenge."

"All the more reason to rest," RJ said. He gently took Kelly's hand and placed it around his shoulder so he could support her as they walked to catch up to Casey, Dom, Hunter and Alex. "Onwards, friends!"


	5. Blue Bay's Other Survivors

A man stood on a pile of scrap metal as he stared out at the horizon. Far in the distance he could make out a giant dome. Hoping to find some form of human life hiding in the massive bubble, the man planned on walking the distance with his girlfriend. It seemed like only a few more hours before they would make it.

Unfortunately appearances were also deceiving. While the man could make out a dome, he could also see a war going on just outside said dome and he could spot several armies of robots quickly marching closer. Each group was closer than the last.

Suddenly, a metal plate flew over his head and struck the front lines of the first group of the robot armies. The man chuckled and looked over his shoulder, where his girlfriend was standing and watching the results of her beautiful throw.

"Nice one, Tor."

"I didn't just surf at the beach," Tori chuckled. She hopped down her taller pile of metal and approached her boyfriend, "Frisbee was pretty popular too."

Blake smiled as he leaned in to kiss her, "How quickly do you think you can take these guys out?"

Tori let out a sigh as she looked at her surroundings, trying to find a body of water, or even a puddle, big enough for her to summon her water powers. Whoever had created these robots obviously had no idea they would ever come face to face with a Water Ninja.

"I guess I'm doing this manually," Tori said after concluding that there was no water source close enough to help her out. "Are you sure you don't want to try using your thunder powers?"

"I'm a little rusty," Blake nodded his head. "I might just supercharge them. Then we'll really have a problem."

"You're such a wuss," Tori laughed. She pulled her morpher from her pocket. It was slightly banged up, but it still worked. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"

Tori morphed quickly and rushed forward. She found these robots resembled Kalzacks in many ways. Fighting many of them was a challenge, but a good punch or kick and they could be destroyed easily. Unfortunately, unlike Kalzacks, these robots didn't feel pain, so Tori had to get used to really throwing out hard shots. She didn't have time to breathe as the robots recovered from her punches. They would feel the punch but quickly fight back.

Blake looked up to the skies before joining his girlfriend. To say he was happy she had been chosen to wear the spandex again was an understatement.

"Thank you Sentinel Knight," he whispered as he rushed into battle. In civilian form he couldn't take out as many robots as Tori, but he had done his part. In no time at all the robots all around the couple were lying on the ground; some broken in two, three or more pieces.

Tori powered down and doubled over to catch her breath. She looked at Blake as he too took a moment.

"Feel free to join in a little sooner next time," she smirked, breathing deeply. There was always something exhausting about morphing; like she was using more energy than ever before to power up her Ranger suit. It didn't help that most of the time she making a big wave out of little ponds in order to take out various armies of robots.

Blake smiled back at her,"But then I don't get to watch you fight."

Tori rolled her eyes, "I'm tired of this. How about we jump the rest of the armies and streak to the bubble on the horizon?"

"I'm okay with that," Blake said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"I meant ninja streak, you pervert."

"You sure we can't do the first one?" Blake laughed, "I'm sure we'll get the same results."

"Robots don't get turned on Blake," Tori frowned. "And who says they're male robots. It could be a woman creator?"

"Are you saying this is a feminist rebellion? See, this is exactly why we don't give women too much power."

Tori walked over to him and smacked him on the head, "Let's just go."

"Alright, fine. Ruin this beautiful moment," Blake chuckled. Tori rolled her eyes again before disappearing in a streak of blue light that bounced into the distance. Blake quickly followed her. Thankfully he remembered exactly how to Ninja streak.

-Fight-Flight-

Dustin tossed the blank paper onto the ground. For the last few days he had been using it as a pretend map, hoping an idea would suddenly hit him if he continued to view the empty page.

Only moments before the second explosion hit ninja ops, Dustin, Shane and Cam all Ninja streaked to safety. They had made it out just in time, but they weren't sure what happened to Hunter, Kelly and Alex. They had quickly gone back to Ninja Ops to see if they could find their friends, but there were no bodies and no signs of life. Sadly, they had to continue on their journey, hoping that they would meet their teammates in Corinth.

Shane walked up beside Dustin and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Are you finally going to admit that we don't need that thing anymore?"

"Dude, this is getting frustrating!" Dustin grumbled. "I don't think we're headed in the right direction at all!"

"Cam," Shane called to the Green Ranger.

"I don't get it," Cam said. He had been studying the ground every so often, hoping he could pick up any trace of humanity. "We've been streaking for days now and still nothing."

"Well, we found a forest," Dustin shrugged, "That could have been something."

"You don't have any of your berries left, do you?" Shane asked. "I've run out."

Dustin hugged his bag close to his chest, "No way, dude. I shouldn't be punished because you didn't eat in moderation."

"Guys!" Cam shouted, interrupting the quarrel between the two boys. "We're not going to get anywhere if we fight for food. Share with him, Dustin, before we all get hungry. If we have to resort to cannibalism, we'll just eat Shane first."

"HEY!"

"You'll be the fattest, dude," Dustin smirked as he offered his berries, "You're eating more than Cam and I."

"Alright, sounds fair."

Suddenly, Cam held his hands up, stopping both Shane and Dustin in their tracks. The two boys turned to friend, confused, until Cam pointed.

"Look."

Shane leaned his head forward slightly, "Is that a dead body."

"365," Dustin smirked, "Now I've seen enough dead bodies to last me a year."

Cam shook his head at the goofball before he ran forward and dropped beside the corpse. Shane and Dustin were right behind him.

"He looks like some kind of butler," Dustin pointed out.

"What makes you say that?" Shane frowned. Dustin shrugged his shoulders.

"He's so well dressed. I just figure…"

Dustin trailed off as Cam pulled something from the metal block where the corpse was resting. It was a red piece of fabric. The green Ranger twirled it around in his fingers and sniffed it.

"I can still smell perfume," he smiled. "It's faint, but it's definitely still there."

"Perfume?" Shane frowned. "Dude, if he is a butler I give him props. He must have died trying to save his snooty, bitchy, princess."

Shane gently tapped the corpse on the chest, "People like that aren't worth saving. You should have run."

"C'mon," Cam said as he motioned for the boys to follow him. "If we hurry we might be able to catch up to the person who made these tracks."

Cam pointed to the ground where a set of footprints were still clear in the sand and grassy patches.

"Well, whoever she was, she's walking barefoot now," Shane shrugged as he noticed the footprint weren't at all rounded at the ends. In fact, he could see the prints of toes.

"She probably broke a heel," Dustin chuckled.


	6. The Arrival

When the streaking ceased (unfortunately for Blake it was the ninja kind of streaking), the two blue Ninjas found themselves right in the middle of what looked like a warzone. They were standing just outside the dome that moments ago had been on the horizon.

While Tori looked down at the ground to examine the fallen robots and humans, Blake walked up to the exterior of the dome. It had been sealed off and completely. If this was man-made, it was most likely to preserve whatever humans were living inside it. If it was part of the enemy's base, then Tori and Blake were likely screwed.

"We're too late, aren't we?" Blake heard Tori ask sadly. She approached him from behind and placed her hand on his shoulder. Blake nodded his head.

"We have to find a way inside."

"How did they build this?" Tori frowned. The dome was massive in size and seemed to be the only thing that survived the end of the world. She used to think Ninja Ops was impressive, or even the Hartford Mansion, but if her journey here was any indication, nothing had survived.

"We'll get answered when we're inside," Blake told her. He began pounding his hands against the dome, hoping someone inside would hear him. "HELP!"

Tori grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him away, "Blake, maybe that's not a good idea."

"Tori, we're dead if we stay out here. Everything's a good idea."

"I'm just saying, it's only been four days. There's no way anyone could have built a dome like this in four days! They must have known the attacks were coming!"

"So?"

"So…" Tori trailed off, hoping Blake would understand her point, but her boyfriend continued to look at her, waiting for an answer. Tori sighed, "So, maybe this place isn't where we're supposed to be headed."

"Tori, we're Power Rangers. Whatever's behind this massive bubble, we can protect ourselves."

"I'm a Power Ranger!" Tori shouted. "You're a man who rides a bike for a living! You haven't even taken a freaking ninja class in over seven years!"

"So?"

"So, my point is, I'm fucking tired, Blake!" Tori reached into her pocket and pulled out her morpher. The strap had broken off on the journey and thankfully Tori's pockets were big enough to hold the device that had saved her and Blake's life numerous times.

"We're both tired, Tor…"

"Then you're a freaking wuss, Bradley!" Tori screamed. She threw her morpher to the ground in her rage. "I've been working my ass off day in and day out. I've been morphing in and out of the Ranger suit, I've been _squirting _evil robots and you've been standing in the background. You've probably destroyed only twenty robots in four days!"

"I don't want to die," Blake frowned.

Tori shoved him, "Neither do I!"

Blake stumbled backwards and braced himself for impact against the giant dome. But as he fell the dome opened up and two army men grabbed him. Blake didn't know what to make of the situation, but at least now he knew that life inside the dome was human life.

Tori took a step back instinctively when she saw the dome open, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw human faces. Her relief didn't last long when one of the men holding Blake let him go and pulled out a gun. He pointed it at Tori and grabbed his radio.

"Tell the Colonel we've found them," the military man said. "They're human, but that doesn't explain the readings we've been getting."

"_The source is still located outside the dome,"_ a female voice on the other end replied.

The man turned to his partner and nodded. The second man, who was still holding Blake, grabbed him and pulled him further inside the dome. Suddenly, he pushed Blake forcefully into a group of other military soldiers who proceeded to pat him down.

"Nothing," one of the soldiers told the man. "He's clean."

Another soldier waved a wand over Blake, "Nothing inside him, either."

"Inside me?" Blake frowned. "Of course there's nothing inside me! We've been travelling on empty for days!"

"Take him to the hospital to recover, keep your eyes on him, though," the men did as they were instructed. They grabbed Blake's arms and led him into a truck.

Just outside the dome, the man holding the gun carefully eyed the areas around Tori. The blonde was too tired to fight so tried to remain as still as possible. Hopefully he was just being cautious and had no intention of shooting her.

Suddenly the man took a few steps. Tori followed him with her eyes until she saw where he was headed. He had seen her morpher. Before he picked it up he grabbed his radio again.

"Vasquez, is this it?" he spoke.

"_It is. Destroy it."_

Tori's eyes widened and she ninja streaked forward. She pushed the man away from her morpher and grabbed it. She was still suspicious of this domed city and until she felt safe she was going to hold onto her morpher.

Then, Tori took off. She heard that these men were going to take Blake to a hospital, so she knew he would be safe for a little while. She wasn't going to run far, just far enough so she could figure out what was going on and hopefully find safety.

But before Tori could go far she heard the sound of a gun fire and she fell to the ground. Before blacking out she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder blade and someone ripping the morpher from her hand.

"Maybe's it's best if we analyse this," the man said into his radio.

Finally, Tori blacked out.

-Fight-Flight-

"Voilà," RJ smiled as he pointed into the distance, where he and the rest of his friends could see Corinth City, "We're almost there."

"Does this mean you'll stop singing?" Alex grumbled. RJ had been singing non-stop since they had met. It was his way of keeping spirits bright. On that note, he had even sung a few Christmas carols. His reason for his off-key singing was that it helped the time pass and he believed that the group walked faster when they had an up-beat tempo to walk to. It was probably true, but it was also annoying.

"It seems we were never really far from Corinth," Hunter breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and took Alex back from Dom. Now that he was walking with a bigger pack, there were more men who could help him carry Alex. It made a world of a difference for his energy levels.

"I'd say we have about ten miles to go," Dominic said. He looked over his shoulder at the three girls, who were bringing up the rear of the pack. "Think we have enough energy to push on?"

"Is there a bed?" Fran asked.

"Screw the bed, is there life?" Kelly added.

"I just want RJ to stop singing," Lily grumbled.

Smugly, Casey turned to RJ and gave him a told-you-so look. If even Lily was annoyed then obviously RJ's singing was irritating.

"I'll stop singing once we're home safe," RJ smirked back.

"DOME-HO!" Alex shouted as he pointed to the dome. Just like that Hunter, Dominic, Casey, Theo, Fran and Lily marched forward at a rapid pace, hoping to make it to the city before RJ blew their eardrums.

The wolf smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. He was slightly offended, but if they survived, he could get back at them later.

"Wait up for me," he cried as he chased after them.

As they started running they heard a noise in the distance. It sounded like a motor running. Slowly, they all came to a stop and they looked ahead. They spotted a large military vehicle coming for them.

"There is a god," Alex breathed. He held his hands up in the air, "Over here!" he cried out.

The vehicle drove right up to the pack and stopped, blowing up sand and dirt into the air. Two men jumped out from the truck, each holding a blaster. One man pulled out a wand and started waving it around. He waved it up and down everyone while the pack stood still, fearful of being shot.

"Clear," he said to his partner. Both lowered their guns.

"You're a lucky group," the man without the wand smiled. "We didn't plan on making a run of the perimeter. I'm Major LaFleur. He's Corporal Hicks."

LaFleur turned to his partner, "Hurry and get the back set up for the survivors."

"Are you from Corinth City?" Fran felt the need to ask, just as a precaution. LaFleur nodded.

"It's the only safe place now that the Venjix has spread worldwide," he said. He quickly scanned the group with his eyes, "I suggest you drop any and all technological equipment you may be carrying on your person. Nothing from the outside is permitted to Enter Corinth."

Everyone exchanged looks and pulled on their empty pockets. RJ dumped out his bag to show he wasn't carrying anything technological.

"What's a Venjix?" Lily asked.

"We'll explain once we reach Corinth," was all LaFleur was permitted to answer. "Before you get comfortable though, I would like to warn you that there's an entire process you'll have to go through to become Citizens of Corinth City. You'll need to be scanned once more to make sure there is no Venjix technology inside your body. If you pass we'll send you individually to meet with Colonel Truman. He'll interview you and make sure your stories each match up. If he says you've passed, we'll take your picture and hand you an ID badge. If you don't feel like repeating the process, don't lose that badge."

LaFleur walked to the group to the back of the truck, "Just for precaution, Hicks is going to ride with you all in the back. I don't suggest you discuss your journey here to Corinth. We need to make sure the story you'll tell the Colonel is in your own words."

LaFleur and Hicks helped all nine survivors into the back of the truck before they closed the door and Hicks jumped in. As LaFleur starting walking to the front of the truck, Hunter couldn't help but notice something familiar hanging off LaFleur's belt.

"Sir," Hunter called. He pointed to the object, "What's that?"

LaFleur grabbed the object from his belt and held it up, "We're not sure. We found it on a woman who tried to break into the city. Why?"

"I've seen it before," Hunter said. He hoped these words weren't going to turn him into an enemy of Corinth. "Before the Venjix thingy… I lived in Blue Bay Harbour. The Power Rangers, they all wore something like that. One saved me once and I noticed it. I've never forgotten it."

"Power Ranger, huh?" LaFleur laughed. "Whether or not you're right, it's illegal. It could be infected."

LaFleur tapped the truck as he walked away. Kelly looked at Hunter.

"Power Rangers?" she asked.

Hunter looked at her, and then turned to RJ, Theo, Lily, Casey and Dominic. Finally he looked at the Colonel.

"I'm sure it's what the Rangers used to morph," Hunter said. He winked at Kelly, hoping she would understand where he was going with this story."

"Dude, you told us that the Ninja Rangers lost their power," Alex said. Hunter's attempt at being subtle wasn't obvious to him. "Why would you go running around with powerless morphers?"

"I'm not," Hunter shook his head, quickly dismissing Alex' words. The others could easily come to the conclusion that Hunter was a Ranger. While Kelly and Alex knew, Hunter didn't want anyone else to know. "One of the Rangers might, though. You never know. They could have gotten power from elsewhere."

"I heard about the Rangers in San Angeles," Theo started. "They went public with their identities, unlike most other teams and for a while I know they were demoted. They were replaced by a whole new team of mismatched Rangers from different cities. One of them was a Ninja, I think. Blue Bay Harbour had Ninja Power Rangers, right?"

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, pretty cool, huh."

Theo smirked, "Yeah, kinda cool. But Ocean Bluff had Rangers too. These ones were kung fu masters and had amazing animal spirits."

"Our Rangers had elemental powers."

Hicks cleared his throat, "If you guys are so into the Power Rangers, maybe you can each apply for one of the colours once you've obtained your citizenship. A man, Dr. K, is currently on the lookout for qualified candidates."

Hunter turned to Hicks. He wasn't interested in becoming a Power Ranger again, but when Hicks spoke up Hunter was reminded of how they got onto the topic of Power Rangers. If LaFleur had a morpher, which he pulled off a woman, then it was possible that Tori was alive and had made it to Corinth. Unfortunately it didn't sound like a pleasant arrival.

"What happened to the woman holding the, uh, suspected morpher?" Hunter asked.

Hicks shrugged his shoulders, "LaFleur shot her and we took her to Corinth Prison. When she wakes up we'll determine if she's a threat or not."

"But, if she is a Power Ranger…"

"Like I said, the Colonel will determine if she's a threat or not."


	7. Corinth ID Badges and Houses

"Tunnel, tunnel, tunnel, tunnel…"

"Do you have to do that, Dustin?"

"It's my digging song," Dustin nodded as he momentarily stopped digging to turn to Shane and Cam. He looked at the red Ranger, "If you want us to dig into Corinth, you'll have to let me sing my digging song."

Shane turned to Cam with an agitated look, but he nodded at Dustin so the man could continue tunnelling. It had been Cam's idea to enter Corinth from underground and to pop up in the middle of the city. He had had a strange feeling that getting inside the city was going to be a difficult task and wanted to make sure he and his friends were at least safe before confronting anymore challenges. He got the idea of tunnelling specifically when he found a Scottish flag on the ground and had lifted it up. Someone must have dropped it on their way to the city. And when he did lift it, he noticed a hole in the ground made from a rather large vehicle getting stuck in the mud. Dustin stated that some of the tracks in the area resembled school bus tracks, and it was possible that it was what had been stuck and it could have been what dropped the flag. Either way, he didn't start questioning what type of vehicle it was or where the flag came from when Cam had his genius idea. Dustin started digging from the hole in the ground.

Thankfully, Dustin was a digging expert. He had long since mastered the ability as part of his training as an Earth Ninja at the Wind Academy. He dug quickly, meaning he and the other two boys were covering a lot of ground.

"Dustin, stop!" Cam shouted and the former yellow Ranger came to a complete standstill. He turned around slowly.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing. If I'm right we should surface now."

"Surfacing!" Dustin smirked. He put his hands together and shut his eyes. Shane took a wary step back and pulled Cam with him.

"He's always struggled with this," he warned his green friend. No truer words were spoken. Dustin was able to make a hole to the surface, but not without causing a little explosion of dust and dirt that spray all over Shane and Cam. Fortunately, they had been ready.

"I hope Corinth has running water," Cam frowned. "I'm really going to need a shower."

"Sorry, dudes," Dustin chuckled. He was clean of dirt and dust as everything has been blown away from him. He jumped up and starting making his way to the surface. Shane and Cam were right behind him.

When the three came out of their hole they looked around at the sole city on Earth that had been untouched by the apocalypse.

"Wow," Dustin breathed, as he looked up at the sky, "It's like we're in another world."

"Probably artificial," Cam stated, bursting Dustin's bubble. Dustin turned to his friend and frowned.

"What?"

"That sky. If memory serves the sky just outside the dome was far too polluted and toxic."

"How do you make an artificial sky?" Shane frowned.

Cam shook his head. It would truly be useless to explain this to Shane and Dustin, so he simplified it for them.

"It's like a giant HD TV programmed into the roof of the dome."

"3-D HD TV?" Dustin smiled. Cam nodded.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Sweet!" Dustin cheered as he high-fived Shane. "I'm going to love it here!"

"Just wait until the interview process," a voice spoke, "And never mind the invasive scanning."

The three men turned at the sound of the voice, finding it very familiar.

Blake stood just a few feet away from them with a smile on his face. Cam, Shane and Dustin returned the smile and rushed to greet him.

"We thought you were dead, dude!" Dustin stated, "How did you make it here?"

"Same way you did," Blake shrugged, "Pure luck and ninja training."

"When did you get here is the better question," Cam asked.

"Tori and I arrived yesterday," Blake said. He immediately noticed the joy and relief slip off his friends' faces. There was slight hope left on Dustin's face though.

"Is Tori with you?" he asked. Blake shook his head.

"Uh, no."

"What happened?" Shane asked with worry in his voice. Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"I wish I could tell you, man. We made it to the dome and it was shut. There was no getting in. Suddenly two men grabbed me and pulled me in. One of those men pointed a gun at Tori. That's all I can say."

"All you can say?"

"Well, after that they took me to a hospital to get checked out. I was scanned over and over again and questioned for hours before they released me. I was on my way to city hall to ask for a house when I saw you guys crawling out of a hole."

"So, you have no idea what happened to Tor?" Shane asked.

"I don't even know if she's inside the dome," Blake said. "The man who questioned me, Colonel Truman, said he would let me stay in the city as long as I never asked about her. He said that if she wasn't a threat I would be seeing her soon."

"How is Tori a threat?" Cam frowned questioningly. "No, I have a better question: why is she the threat and not you, or both of you?"

Blake shook his head and shrugged, "No idea. I'm going to wait a day or so and see if I can find her, if not then screw the uptight Colonel."

Blake then motioned to a building just across the park from where the three boys surfaced, "But right now I'm going to find a place to live. You three might want to drop by and get an ID Badge, though. If you're found without one then you're arrested. Like I said, the process isn't comfortable, but I don't think I want to be arrested in a post-apocalyptic world."

-Fight-Flight-

Colonel Truman stepped out from his office where the nine new survivors were all waiting together after each giving their version of how they made it to Corinth. With only a few differences, which could be due to different perspective or memory loss, he didn't see any reason to lock the survivors up and label them a threat. In his hand he had all nine of their ID badges.

"Your stories fit," he said. One thing that really unnerved the nine was that the Colonel never smiled. Alex had been particularly anxious during his interview and had tried telling a few jokes to get the big man to smile, but none had worked. He took his job very seriously.

Colonel Truman handed out the badges, "Congratulations you are now Citizens of Corinth City."

"Does this mean we can apply for the Power Ranger jobs?" Alex smiled. The Colonel shook his head.

"I would advise against that," he said. "With that leg, you'll be lucky if Dr. K lets you enter the Ranger base, never mind try out."

"Oh…" Alex frowned.

"The rest of you are free to do as you please. I'm sure your ability to survive in the wastelands will impress the doctor. But until then you should drop downtown to grab a house before they are all gone."

"That sounds like a good idea," RJ nodded.

"A bed!" Fran smiled, jumping out of her seat. She was eager to go.

Kelly helped Alex out of his chair and followed her new friends to the door. She stopped and noticed Hunter was the only one not following.

She let go of Alex and made sure he could lean against the wall before she walked back to Hunter. She sat back down beside him and placed her hand on his leg.

"I was thinking of getting a house with Alex. Someone needs to look after him. Do you maybe want to…?"

"Kelly, I told you, our relationship is completely professional," Hunter snapped.

"I just thought that with Blake and the others gone you might not want to be alone…"

"Leave it, Kelly!" Hunter shouted. "We know Tori's alive. She's somewhere here! That LaFleur guy had her morpher!"

"And their trying to determine if she's a treat of not! I don't know what they do with threats, but I'm sure they don't release them!"

"She's not a threat," Hunter growled, turning to Kelly.

Over by the wall Alex watched the scene and grew more and more uncomfortable. The others were just down the hall, out of earshot and waiting. Alex leaned over so they could see them and he called them over.

Casey walked over, thinking Alex needed help. It was his turn to carry the young boy. Alex shook his head as Casey tried to grab him. He pointed to Hunter and Kelly.

"Someone might want to keep an eye on him," Alex whispered. "Hunter kinda hates Kelly."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Casey nodded.

Hunter jumped out of his seat and kicked the underside of it, causing the chair to flip over and Kelly to jump.

"Dammit, Kelly, just leave me alone!" Hunter shouted. "Just get the hell out of my life, okay? Get your own place, move in with Alex, I don't give a flying rat's ass! Just leave me the hell alone!"

Kelly slowly got out of her seat, looking completely defeated. She turned to Hunter with one last plea.

"I wasn't trying to…"

"GET OUT!" Hunter screamed and Kelly was afraid he was going to try something. Already a few military men had stepped into the room to monitor the screaming.

Kelly turned and ran, trying to hide her already tear-filled eyes. She made her way past Alex and Casey and then stormed passed RJ, Dom, Theo, Lily and Fran.

Alex whispered to Casey, "Do me a favour and shove him, please," he asked.

Casey frowned, but Alex insisted. The red jungle Ranger shrugged and walked over to Hunter who was pacing in anger.

"Hunter," he called, grabbing the older man's attention. Hunter turned to Casey and shouted.

"What?"

Casey shoved him and quickly pointed to Alex, "It's from him."

Hunter growled as he turned to the young boy, "What?"

"I used to respect you," Alex said. "When I first started working I used to look at you and I'd think: Wow, I want to be just like him. Now, you're just scum!"

Hunter coughed, "Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean," Alex stated firmly. He was tired of seeing his boss and Hunter fighting all the time. "I know you understand why she did what she did, but just because she broke your heart doesn't mean you can continuously treat her like dirt. If I ever see her crying again, and you're behind it, I'm… I'm… I can't hurt you because of the whole… you know, but you know what I mean."

"I'll kick your ass," Casey said. He was confident in his abilities to hurt the older, bigger man. While he had only been training at the Pai Zhuq for a few years, he had also been a Power Ranger, and the red one at that. Hunter was just an everyday man to Casey. "And I was the one who agreed with you when you told us your story."

Casey shot one final glare at Hunter, while Alex imitated, before the red Ranger took the young boy and walked him down the hall.

"How about the eight of us try to get a place together?" he suggested. "A little bit of familiar in a new city."


	8. Dr K

Corinth Prison was far from the ideal place to be, but as long as Tori wasn't fighting for her life in the barren wastelands she couldn't complain too much about her position.

Her shoulder however was another story. While it had been wrapped and her arm immobilized, Tori had received absolutely nothing for the pain. Even when the doctors were trying to fix her up, Tori was wide awake and fully aware of what was going it. It wasn't a pleasurable experience and Tori would be perfectly happy if she never had to do it again.

Finally, the man who shot her walked into her cell holding up a many papers. Tori knew one set was going to be the results from the multiple scans they had done to test her for Venjix technology (whatever that meant). Another set would be the answers to her interview questions (the reason she hadn't received drugs), and a final set was most likely the results of the tests they had done on her morpher. The one that had been ripped from her hands before she had blacked out.

"Major LaFleur," the man presented himself. "Unfortunately Colonel Truman has quite a few interviews to do today. You should consider yourself a hero. We were checking the perimeters when we found nine other survivors like your friend."

"Do you let heroes go?" Tori asked dismissively. She was pissed off and she wasn't afraid to show it. She had nothing to hide from these people except the one secret she had always kept hidden from civilians.

"Not unless they pass our tests," LaFleur stated. He grabbed a seat and sat down. He pulled out the first papers, "Congratulations, you passed the scans. There is no Venjix technology inside your body."

"I could have told you that," Tori rolled her eyes, "The doctors could have told you that. Whatever Venjix means…"

"You also passed the interview," LaFleur pointed out. For some reason, that didn't sound like good news to Tori. "The Colonel thought you were a very… presentable young woman."

"If you hadn't of shot me, I would be crossing my arms right now," Tori said.

"Unfortunately your little device contains a lot of power and is not permitted inside the city. Until you can confirm what it is we will continue to label you as a threat," LaFleur stated. "Oh, and don't bother lying. One of the world's greatest minds has checked this device and one of our survivors told me where he had seen another like this before."

"If you know what it is, why do I need to tell you?"

"We need to make sure you know what it is," LaFleur said.

"So you can make sure I wasn't trying to sneak a bomb into the only city on Earth?"

"Something along those lines."

"Well, was it a bomb?"

"I can't tell you."

Tori scoffed, "If it wasn't a bomb why do you want to make sure I know that. Obviously I know what it is if I'm willing to put myself on the line to keep it out of your hands."

The blonde held out her hand, "Speaking of which, can I have it back?"

"No."

Tori frowned, "You're being difficult, aren't you?"

"I'm doing my job. You're the one being difficult."

"If I told you what that device was, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me," LaFleur smirked.

Tori leaned forward, "Fine, but I will have you know that I won't appreciate being thrown into the loony bin."

"If you can confirm what we already know, we'll have another job for you."

"It's a Power Ranger morpher," Tori said. "I used to be the Blue Ninja Ranger in Blue Bay Harbour. Me and five of my closest friends fought against the evil space Ninja Lothor and saved the world from him. We had a brief appearance in a city called Reefside where we fought along the Dino Rangers and a few years ago I was asked to temporarily join a team of Rangers while the San Angeles Rangers were out of commission."

"I thought the blue suit always went to men," LaFleur frowned as he jotted down notes.

"No, women can wear any colour. As long as none of the men are wearing skirts everyone's okay with their colours."

"How do you fight in a skirt?"

"It's the same as pants," Tori frowned. "You punch and kick until your opponent is dead."

"Didn't the skirt ever get in the way?"

"It stretches," Tori answered.

"But did it keep you from performing high-kicks."

"It was a short skirt."

"A little revealing, then."

"We had a pant-type uniform underneath… wait, what does this have to do with my morpher?"

Major LaFleur waved to one of the men standing guard outside the prison cell. The man rushed out of Tori's view before coming back with a computer screen. He brought it into the prison cell and laid it on a small table.

"I would like you to meet someone, Miss Hanson," LaFleur said. "Dr. K. He's currently the brains behind what will be our new team of Power Rangers."

The screen was white and in the middle was the letter K.

"Greetings, Miss Hanson."

"Whoa," Tori frowned. She reached out with her good hand to touch the screen.

"Don't do that," the voice quickly said and Tori jumped back. She could hear the voice was low and distorted and sounded a lot like Kira did when Dustin messed with the buttons in her recording studio.

"I doubt you're a man," she said.

"I can assure you, Dr. K is one of the smartest men the world has ever seen," LaFleur said in defence of Dr. K.

"If he's so smart why can't he figure out how to get video with a webcam?"

"He's a little anti-social."

The voice coughed, reminding Tori and LaFleur that he was still in the room (figuratively, of course).

"I have a proposition for you, Miss Hanson," Dr. K asked. "As a veteran Ranger I would like for you to assist me in choosing candidates for Series Red, Blue and Yellow."

"Does the K stand for Kira?" Tori frowned.

"No," Dr. K answered.

"Please take this seriously," LaFleur said.

"You shot me and now you're asking me for a favour! This city is freaking insane! Can't I just leave and not be a threat somewhere else?" Tori asked.

"No," LaFleur put it simply. "You're still under arrest. Either you help us and pay your debt to society, or we can grant you free stay in Corinth prison."

"But I'm not a threat. I don't have your stupid Venjix technology in my body, I passed the interview and I…"

"You attempted to run from me," LaFleur frowned.

"You shot me."

"After you ran."

"Children, please!" Dr. K shouted through the screen. "Miss Hanson, do you take up my offer?"

"Fine, whatever," Tori scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Excellent. I'll need your present at the Ranger base tomorrow morning. If you would like, though, I might be able to arrange a room for you for tonight."

"A room where?" Tori asked.

"In the Ranger Base, of course," Dr. K said matter-of-factly.

"Okay and I'll meet you tomorrow?"

"We've already met."

"I meant face to face," Tori frowned. There was a silence.

"I don't know what you mean," Dr. K finally said.

LaFleur whispered to Tori, "Don't try."

He got to his feet, "I'm assuming you want out of this prison tonight."

"I would like to be away from you."

"I'll make sure it's done."

"And Blake," Tori called before LaFleur left. He turned to her.

"You'll probably run into him. It's a one city-world."


	9. Another Reunion

Lily dropped the bag of supplies she and the others had received when they had gone to apply for a house. She looked around at the new home they had been given and sighed contently.

"It's a loft!" she smiled as she turned to face the others. She had agreed to move in with her new friends (Hunter excluded), in order to help everyone adjust to the new city, as well as the new world. Coming home to familiar faces and to friends would make the transition much smoother.

"Not another one," Theo groaned. He and the other boys were carrying the heavier bags filled with a supply of canned goods and hygienic equipment.

RJ cleared his throat, "What was that, Theo?"

"I just mean that no loft will ever be as good as yours. All cosy and crammed in together…" Theo stammered, trying to cover up his blunder. Casey patted him on the back.

"Yeah, sure, and I haven't been sleeping in a hammock for the last few years."

"I liked the small living quarters," Lily chirped, "It's easier to bond."

"What does she mean by that?" Alex frowned. Dom wrapped his arm around the young man's shoulder and pointed to a door just a few feet from the kitchen.

"One bathroom," he said. "I can't count the number of times I've walked in on someone naked."

Alex looked at the bathroom door, then to Lily. A smile crept up on his face.

"Sweet."

Lily turned to him with a glare, "Don't even think about it. I always lock the bathroom door."

"She does," Dom nodded. "I was talking about the other guys."

"Oh," Alex said before it really sank in, "Oh," he frowned in disgust.

Kelly was the last to enter the loft. She made her way past everyone and claimed a room as her own already. She walked in and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Okay, so that's her bedroom," Theo said. "How many others are in here?"

"I've counted three," RJ breathed, turning to the guys. It was easy to assume that the three girls would be sharing a bedroom, but there were quite a few men in the house and they weren't all comfortable sharing one bedroom. The more spread out they could be, the happier they were.

"That's easy," Fran shrugged, "RJ and Dom can share one room, and if Hunter decides to grow a pair he can move in there. Casey, Theo and Alex can share the other."

"You mean I'm stuck with the kid and Casey?" Theo frowned. Alex looked at the shorter man.

"Hey, who are you calling a kid?" he asked. "I may be young, but I'm extremely mature for my age."

He smiled proudly for a moment before it faded and his happy demeanour was replaced by one of sadness. Normally, whenever Alex would try to flaunt a quality he knew he didn't possess, Olivia would step in and put him right back in his place. She would contradict almost anything he said, but in a playful manner, like she was having fun teasing him. Alex always loved it. Sometimes it was insulting, but that was their relationship, and while he did have a slight crush on her, he always saw her as the older sister he never had.

While traveling through the wastelands, Alex had been so preoccupied with trying to survive that he hadn't focused on her or her death. He had thought about her, but at the time, the important thing was his survival.

Now, though, things were different. Olivia, or Libby, as everyone affectionately called her, was dead. Many people Alex loved were dead. He was sure he was never going to see his parents again. Cam had announced that everyone in Blue Bay Harbour was gone.

The only family he ever truly had however was Hunter, Kelly and Libby, and with recent events, his family had been downgraded to a family of two. While his parents loved him, they never had the money to really support him. They had done their best with what they had, but they were always working to put food on the table. When Alex got the job at Storm Chargers, he felt at home. When Kelly trained him, it felt like a mother nurturing a young boy; when Hunter taught him about the bikes in the shop, it felt like a father teaching his son. When Libby teased him it felt like sibling feud and rivalry. There was a reason he and Libby always referred to Kelly and Hunter as "mom and dad" whenever the two got into a dispute.

A tear rolled down Alex' cheek as he thought about the past. Casey brought up some crutches that they had been given from the hospital and handed them to the young boy. When he did, he noticed Alex was crying.

"You okay?" he asked gently. Alex wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah," he pointed to the door closest to Kelly and the girls' bedroom, "is it okay if we take that one?"

Casey turned to the others before nodding, "I guess."

"Sweet," Alex took his crutches and limped into his bedroom. Like Kelly, the door closed behind him.

RJ spoke after a moment of awkward silence, "It's probably going to sink in for the rest of us pretty soon," he said. "Maybe we should all take a moment."

"We'll claim our beds, I guess," Fran nodded silently as she and Lily started making their way to their bedroom. Everyone else agreed this was a good idea and retreated to the bedrooms. After that, the only sound that could be heard was Theo groaning.

"There are not enough beds!"

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter walked the streets of Corinth City, trying to figure out just where he went wrong. Kelly had wronged _him, _everyone knew that! Kelly knew that! So why was everyone taking her side?

As he tried to think back to what it was he could have possibly done he caught sight of a familiar blonde walking the streets. He furrowed his brow and focused all his attention on her. As she turned a corner, Hunter rushed to follow her. He had run too quickly though and failed to realise that once she turned the corner, she had stopped to check the directions that had been written for her on a piece of paper. He bumped into her, nearly causing her to tumble over.

"HEY! Watch it!"

That voice. Hunter smiled as he pushed himself up and offered his hand to help the woman up.

"Tori!"

The blonde brushed her hair back and looked up. She smiled back at Hunter before jumping up in his arms.

"You made it!" she cried. Hunter held her tight and nodded.

"Me? I saw that LaFleur guy with your morpher! He said you were a threat," it was then Hunter noticed Tori's arm was in a sling, "And apparently they treated you like one! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, and I guess I can't blame them," Tori chuckled. "I can probably kick that Colonel's ass, and he seems like the toughest guy in this city."

"How did you get out?"

Tori smirked, "You were the one who told them about my morpher."

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, I saw it and when LaFleur told me you were a threat I thought maybe if I told him you were a Power Ranger he would reconsider."

"He kinda did," Tori said. She held up the paper she was holding, "I was on my way to the grocery store but… why don't I show you something really cool?"

"What?" Hunter asked eagerly.

"Have you heard of Project Ranger?"


	10. Sooner or Later

_**Author's Note:** This is just a note warning you loyal followers that I do not tolerate people stealing my ideas and passing them off as totally new and original. I'm only saying this because I've had a few cases with one author (I won't mention a name here) and a few scares (my paranoia acting up), and it's been getting ridiculous. It's mostly been cases with the Kaylee Series, which most of you know is my pride and joy. I've spent countless hours, days and many years working on that series and there's been so much effort put into it, especially behind the scenes. I wrote the entire Overdrive Season TWICE and the Once a Ranger many more (I forget how many, exactly. At least three times). I am deeply offended and hurt when I see someone stealing my ideas._

_That being said, I don't mind when people do rewrites. Hell, they're amazing to read. Just please, for those of you who read the Kaylee Series, please be careful. I love all of you very much and would never do or say anything to insult you or offend you, but if you do steal from me I will turn into your biggest nightmare (and I'm not even the one you have to worry about. It's my co-author who's really going to bite)._

_Thank you for your attention and enjoy this chapter. And I've only got so many eyes. So please, if any of you do see someone stealing my ideas, or if you're suspicious, let me know. I'll return the favour, too, if I see someone stealing from a story I've read, I'll let you guys know._

* * *

Hunter looked around in awe as Tori walked him into what she had just called The Garage. It was exactly that, a wide open garage with plenty of room to park and work on cars, bikes and even trucks. Hunter was sure that this space could hold one truck for sure, maybe even a second if they removed the couch area and the kitchenette.

But that wasn't the most impressive thing. Size wasn't what really had Hunter floored. It was all the technology inside the garage that nearly made his heart stop. A top of the line surveillance system, high tech gadgets laid out neatly on the coffee table, plenty of rooms on a top floor and a secret door in the corner that Tori mention led to a laboratory. If the technology out here was amazing, Hunter wanted to see what was inside the lab, but Tori told him the lab was off-limits to everyone, herself included. It was where Dr. K worked.

"I've got a few Ranger auditions later today," Tori said. "They'll be coming here for try-outs. I'll be testing their physical strength and mental intellect and I'll try to match it to the best colour."

"The best colour?" Hunter frowned. While he understood that there was word of a colour stereotype in the Ranger world, he didn't think that personality, intelligence and physical strength were actually requirements for being a certain colour. He thought it just worked out that way.

"Each suit has different specialties," Tori explained. "And Dr. K believes the key to a perfect team is diversity and smooth interaction. Once I narrow down the options to a few candidates per colour I'll need to see how well the team can work together in pressured situations."

"So, explain to me again why you're the one helping out Dr. K?" Hunter asked.

"The Colonel and Dr. K think that my history as a Ranger will help in determining who has what it takes to possess a morpher. And it's a way for me to repay a debt. I think this is just a way for them to keep an eye on me. If you've noticed, there are cameras everywhere."

"The cameras are for me, Miss Hanson," Hunter jumped at the distorted voice over the intercom system. "It allows me to monitor what's going on outside of my laboratory."

"Or you could just, you know, come out?" Tori suggested, looking up to the ceiling. She had nowhere to actually look when she spoke with the doctor. She assumed this was easiest.

"I thought I told you no visitors were allowed before the Ranger auditions?" Dr. K stated, quickly changing the topic.

"I thought you might make an exception," Tori shrugged, "This is Hunter. He was also a Power Ranger. He was crimson."

"Ah, yes, from the Ninja Storm era. Am I correct to assume that you were given crimson as an alternative to pink?"

Hunter frowned, "What?"

"The Ninja Storm Rangers were the first to possess only one female member on your team. Would it be fair of me to assume that due to the lack of women the crimson morpher was modified from the pink in order to preserve your integrity when facing your opponents?"

"He's saying you were the pink Ranger," Tori chuckled.

Hunter had a look of shock on his face. He looked up at the number of cameras. The doctor could have been staring at anyone. He chose one at random and glared.

"Hey, let's get one thing straight, _doc_. I was the Crimson Ranger. It's like red, but with a lot more edge."

"Or an alternative to pink."

Tori chuckled, "You know, Doctor, in Japan pink is associated with manliness."

"Thank you, Tori," Hunter smirked.

"But we're not in Japan, so I guess…"

Hunter shoved Tori before she could finish her sentence. Tori laughed and smiled and pushed him back.

-Afterlife-

Fran dropped her bags when she walked into her new bedroom and stared at the red hear currently sitting on the biggest bed in the room.

"You think you can just claim the big bed like that?" she teased. Kelly looked up and wiped her eyes before making her way off the bed.

"Sorry, I just sat down on anyone. You can have the single bed, though… if you don't want to share…"

"It's fine," Lily said. She dropped her bags on the big bed, "Fran and I can share this one. You can have the other bed to yourself."

"But the only time you're violent is when you sleep," Fran frowned. She had shared a bed with Lily on a few occasions. She knew that Lily kicked a lot when she was sleeping and it was always hard to ignore. Once, Lily had kicked Fran right off the bed.

Lily turned to Fran with a look that told her now wasn't the time. Fran nodded and walked to the big bed and set herself down beside Kelly before placing her hand on the older woman's shoulder.

"You don't need Hunter if he's going to treat you that way," she said. "I may not have the entire wedding story, but…"

"I love him," Kelly whispered. She looked up at Fran, then to Lily. "I did it because I loved him."

"You had other reasons," Lily threw in quickly, hoping it would remind Kelly she wasn't a bad person.

Kelly scoffed, "Yeah, but would I have done anything about it if I wasn't in love with him? And then we finally have a civil relationship again and I go and screw it up by asking if he wanted to move in with me. I know what that sounded like!"

"You were trying to take care of Hunter and Alex," Lily shrugged, "It doesn't matter what it sounded like, it was totally innocent."

"And even if it wasn't, you didn't deserve to be yelled at," Fran added. "After everything that's happened it's only natural we want to be with the people we love. That's the reason we all moved in together. We just met, but we're the closest thing we have to a family now."

Fran turned to Lily and took her hand, "We're all we have. We have to keep each other close. It doesn't really matter what happened before that freaking Venjix thing."

Kelly smiled slightly as she looked at her new friends. They were right, but there was still something that was on her mind.

"He might still love her," she whispered. "He might still be in love with Tori. She's the one who ended things with him. I think he knows the truth but…"

"I'll be honest, Kelly, when Casey, Theo and I met him he was pretty mad at you," Lily said. "He might always be and you might never have him."

"The one time you look on the bad side," Fran frowned as she wondered where Lily was going with this. The cheetah hushed her friend.

"But, look, you did something you knew was going to hurt you because you were trying to protect him. Would you rather he be mad at you but marry someone who actually loves him than watch him marry Tori, knowing she only wants to be with his brother."

"That's kinda screwy," Fran frowned.

Kelly nodded, "Exactly."

Lily sat down next to Kelly with a big smile on her face, "Sooner or later Hunter's going to get over this and he'll realise what a great friend you were. Until then you have the rest of us on your side. We may not like what you did, but we like you."


	11. Tori and the Boys

"Okay, let's put it to a vote! I say the supermarkets here kick Blue Bay's ass!" Dustin exclaimed as his hand flew up in the air, stating his opinion loud and clear for the three other men he was grocery shopping with. While their house had come with a few days worth of food, boy will be boys, and these boys needed more.

Shane shook his head as he pushed the shopping cart. It was his job to monitor what went inside the cart to make sure none of the boys were putting any unnecessary food on their three month credit. Due to the Venjix, money had almost completely disappeared from the face of the earth. While the leaders of Corinth tried to re-establish the finances, they had given every person a credit card with a limit that would easily accommodate their basic needs for three months. Hopefully by then there would be some sort of monetary system.

"Dustin, this food is probably filled with nasty chemicals! Like nastier than the ones we actually like! I don't think you remember the days we spent in no-man's-land."

"Dude, I think this is fantastic!" Dustin grinned as he took another bit from the sample tray he had been handed on his way inside. "Who cares what's inside it. I just love the way it taste!"

Cam turned to Blake as the two stood by the frozen foods and listened to the conversation between the yellow and red Rangers. They exchanged a look for a moment and both sighed.

"At least it's entertaining," Blake shrugged.

Cam continued to look at the navy Ranger, "You haven't heard Dustin's songs yet."

"Songs?" Blake frowned. He turned back to his other friends and listened carefully. While Dustin grabbed an armful of produce from the shelves he sang, "Shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping…"

Blake turned back to Cam, "Seriously?"

"He calls it art," Cam nodded. "I'm just glad he's a ninjutsu sensei and not a music professor."

As Dustin walked back to the cart Shane was pushing, he had a quick look around the store to see if there was anything he missed. Suddenly he let his armful of produce drop right out of his hands as he stood staring at the front of the store.

"L-Libby?" he breathed. Shane, Blake and Cam looked at their motocross man for a moment before turning and following his gaze. At the cash there was a girl with two older people, presumably her parents. The older man was yelling at the cashier and insisting she try swiping his old credit card again, as it was impossible that there was no way it could be declined, for he was a multi-millionaire. The woman beside him was scoffing loudly and rolling her eyes, like she was disgusted by everything in the store, including the people.

While Dustin couldn't see the young lady's face, he was almost certain this was Olivia. She came from a rich family, one he never met, and just by the way this girl was standing, he could tell she wasn't caught up by her parent's fortune, just like Olivia. Was it possible she had survived being blown to bits?

Suddenly, Dustin felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You dropped this," Dustin heard someone say in a thick Scottish accent. The Former Yellow turned and saw a man years younger than himself, holding one of his delicious apples. The Scot had a huge smile on his face, as if it was his absolute pleasure to be helping Dustin out.

Dustin smiled nervously, "Uh, thanks."

"That's a lot of fruit," the scot said. "Are you trying to change your habits after the end of the world scare?"

"No…" Dustin shook his head and quickly glanced back at the cash registers. He noticed the Olivia look-a-like was already gone, yet her parents were still in the store, exchanging confused looks.

"I am," the scot smiled. Apparently he was feeling very friendly. "I'm going to start enjoying natural smoothies. A healthy treat. I was really regretting those biscuits when the alarms went off."

Dustin nodded and was obviously very distracted. He bent over to grab the rest of the produce that had fallen. The Scot was just about to help when he caught a glance at the time on Dustin's watch.

"Oh, no!" he shouted. He grabbed what he could and dumped them into the cart that Shane was still holding. The poor Red Ranger was still trying to figure out this man's accent. The Scot started rushing off, "I'm going to be late for the audition!"

"Audition?" Blake frowned, finally stepping forward. He and Cam had been having a ball watching Shane try to figure out the words coming out of the Scottish man's mouth. His accent was so thick it was like he had just come from Scotland (which he probably had).

"Power Ranger!" the scot answered, pausing for a moment to explain why he was leaving so rudely. "I wasn't going to try out, but then I heard there was a former Ranger in charge of the process! A real superhero!"

"Power Ranger?" Cam, Blake, Shane and Dustin all said in unison, snapping out of whatever had previously been distracting them and keeping them from truly focusing on their new friend before them. The Scot nodded.

"It'll be an honour just to meet her!"

"Her?" Cam asked. He looked at the other boys. There were a lot of Ranger teams, but if there was a chance that Tori had been released from the military, they wanted to find out.

"Aye," the scot nodded.

Forgetting about their groceries (and the delicious fruits and vegetables), Dustin, Shane, Cam and Blake rushed out the door and followed the Scot.

-Fight-Flight-

"Okay, so I got the just of what this Venjix Virus thing is," Hunter started as he tried to keep Tori from kicking him out from The Garage. She needed him gone for the auditions. It was Dr. K's request. Only Project Ranger personnel and Ranger candidates were allowed in the Garage during the audition process. "But, can you please explain how it managed to take over the world and how this city survived when everything else was nuked?"

"You couldn't have asked that last night?" Tori groaned as she literally tried to push Hunter out the door, a job that was normally very easy without the sling and gunshot wound on her shoulder. The first candidate was due to arrive any second. "Don't you have fellow survivors to go home too or something?"

Hunter shook his head, "One of them I don't like, and I'm getting the impression that the others don't like me."

He hadn't told Tori who his fellow survivors were. He didn't think it was important. She didn't know Casey, Theo, Lily, RJ, Dom or Fran, and the two she did know weren't worth mentioning at this point. Alex had turned his back on him and the story behind him and Kelly was enough to prove his hatred for her.

"Is that so?" Tori frowned and there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "You seem like a very likeable and respectable guy. Always doing things for others and never getting in their… way!"

Tori finally pushed Hunter past the door frame and started pushing the buttons to lock the door behind him. As the door shut she called to him: "How about we meet for dinner tonight? Bring your new frien… uh, survivors and maybe I can get them to change their minds."

Hunter stared at the door for a few moments after it locked, "Doubt it."

Inside, Tori walked over to the table Hunter had helped her set up and pressed a button to open another door, where a line of candidates all filed in, ready for their audition process. Only three would make it in the end.

"Alright, how many of you think you might throw up?" Tori started as she looked at the candidates. They all exchanged looks before shaking their heads no. Tori then pressed another button and one of the computer screens used to project Dr. K's K symbol turned into a monitor that displayed various military soldiers testing out the Ranger Audition process.

Many of the applicants turned green just watched all the various ways they were going to be tested. Tori turned off the video at this point.

"How many are going to throw up now?" she asked.

-Fight-Flight-

Shane, Cam, Blake and Dustin followed their new friend until they reached a large establishment. The Scot ran right up to the door and tried pulling on it. He sighed when it didn't open.

"I'm too late," he said, kicking the ground.

"When did the auditions start?" Cam asked, wondering how long it would be before they could get in and see if this Ranger was Tori. The Scot checked the time again and shrugged.

"Half an hour ago," he said. "Why did I have to help dad? I've missed it, now!"

Suddenly, the doors opened up and a few dozen men all wobbled out, holding their stomachs and moaning in pain. One of the men saw the Scot and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"What's your name, son?" he asked just before gagging.

"Flynn," the Scot replied.

"Well, Flynn," the man told him, "If you're thinking of trying out…"

Suddenly, the man threw up. When he was done he looked up at the disgusted boy.

"Don't."

The man stumbled as he walked away looking very ill. Flynn gulped nervously before checking what had happened inside.

Shane, Dustin, Cam and Blake walked up behind him, holding their noses.

"Dude, it smells like puke in there," Dustin commented.

Blake turned to his friend, "Yeah, we kinda smelt that, man."

Hesitantly, Flynn walked inside the Garage.

"Hello?" he called.

A dark skinned man, close to Flynn's age looked up from cleaning the floors of the same stuff the man outside had just thrown up, "I'd hold my breath if I were you," he warned the Scot. He noticed the former Rangers walking in, holding their noses, "These guys have the right idea," he chuckled.

"You're not a woman, dude," Dustin pointed out.

"Yeah," Shane nodded. He motioned to Flynn, "This kid told us a woman was running this thing. A former Power Ranger, woman."

"Uh, yeah, Miss Hanson," the young man nodded, missing the relieved, delighted and surprised looks from the former Rangers. He pointed to one of the many doors in the building, "She's… washing up."

"Washing up what?" Dustin asked. It was a rather stupid question, given the way this Garage was now decorated. Cam shot his friend a surprised look. Dustin shrugged, "What? Tori's got a strong stomach."

"This wasn't Miss Hanson," the young man said. "This was from the men who just ran out of here. Apparently they can't handle simulations."

"And you can?" Flynn asked.

"Or are you just the clean-up crew?" Shane asked.

The man dropped his mop and walked forward. He held out a hand for Shane to shake.

"I'm Scott Truman. Eagle Two and, now, seeing as every other candidate ran out barfing, I guess you can also refer to me as Ranger Operator Series Red."

Flynn's eyes widened as he pushed Shane out of the way and shook Scott's hand. He had heard of the Truman's, especially after the battle of Corinth. They had all fought courageously to insure as many people as possible made it to Corinth and put their lives on the line for days on end to hold back the Venjix forces. Not only was Scott a military legend for Flynn, but he was now a Power Ranger.

Before anyone else could say anything about Scott, one of the doors opened up and Tori stepped out, pulling on a new, blue shirt over her head. As she straightened out her shirt she looked around the room, dreading having to clean up the mess left behind.

"Dr. K, will you come out and help us out now, ple…" she trailed off as her eyes met with the four older men standing in the entrance way of her Garage. With the exception of Blake, though she was worried about his well being, she had assumed they were all dead.

"Dude! It's the right Miss Hanson!" Dustin called out, breaking what everyone had just realised what a silence. Scott and Flynn looked at the men.

"You know her?" they both asked.

Tori rushed over and jumped into the arms of her best friends, who all caught her in a strong and very relieved hug.

After a moment they all pulled away and almost instantly noticed she was injured. They all panicked.

"What happened?" they asked at once, even Blake.

Tori shook her head and dove in for another hug, "I'll explain later! You guys made it!"

Flynn leaned over and whispered to Scott, "So, uh, do you think they know each other or what?"

Scott sighed and rolled his eyes.


	12. Confrontations

Dustin smirked, beaming with pride and joy as Tori finished telling her story about how she got out of prison and was now working for Project Ranger.

"So, dude, are you like the new Ranger mentor or something?" he grinned, bouncing in his seat. Tori shook her head while Shane tried to keep Dustin from bouncing out of the chair and onto the floor.

"Nope. I'm just supposed to select and train at least three Rangers for about a year. Unfortunately I only managed to recruit one."

Flynn raised his hand, "I would like to try out."

"No more vomiting, please," Tori groaned. She pinched her nose, "I've never been so proud of my strong stomach."

"I can't vomit," Flynn smirked, "I haven't eaten all day. Worst you might get is gagging but…"

"I'll take anyone through the simulators at this point," Tori said. She got out of her seat and led Flynn to one of the rooms. Scott got up as well and followed, ready to take orders if Tori needed any help.

"Want me to test him?" Scott asked. "I know how the simulators work, and I know what you're looking for in the endurance tests. You have a lot of catching up to do with your friends and I should get to know my teammate's strengths and weaknesses."

"Good idea," Tori nodded with a smile. The idea of Scott being the red Ranger and leader was really starting to grow on her. He seemed to already be stepping up and taking initiative. There was also a chance he could have just been kissing up. "Test him and mark down his results. Dr. K and I will look at them when you're done."

"Sweet!" Flynn smirked as Scott grabbed a clipboard and walked Flynn inside the first room.

Tori returned to her seat and smiled as she looked at her friends, very happy to see them. She hadn't really thought much about what could have happened to them during the Venjix. To keep herself from running back she had told herself they were dead. It helped her clear her conscience and move forward. If she thought they were alive, she would have turned back. Blake had done the same.

But here they were, sitting right in front of her, all just as happy as before the Venjix.

Suddenly, Tori realised she had forgotten to mention something important. Hunter was alive! She had seen him only a few hours before the boys turned up. He was here in the city. And that meant that all the Ninja Rangers had made it safe and sound to Corinth city. It was a relief, too. For a while she thought that she and Blake were the only Rangers who made it.

Tori grinned as she turned to Blake, "You'll never guess who I ran into last night."

"A doctor?" Blake teased, "You couldn't have wrapped that wound yourself."

Tori looked at her shoulder and then back to Blake and the boys. Hunter was Blake's brother, but Shane, Dustin and Cam were also going to be excited to hear the news.

"Hunter stopped by," she smiled. "He made it!"

"Hunter made it?" Shane asked in complete disbelief. All this time he believed that Hunter, Kelly and Alex had exploded when the last missile hit Ninja Ops.

Dustin was rather surprised too, "Are you sure it was him?"

Tori nodded, "Positive, Dustin. He stayed the night. We talked, we had dinner…"

Dustin furrowed his brow, but Tori knew what that meant. On the other side of the table, Blake didn't seem to happy to hear Tori had met with his brother before him, and they practically had a date.

"Yes, Dustin," Tori said, "I poked him to make sure he was real and not a figment of my imagination."

Dustin leaned back in his chair, "Good, dude, because I thought I saw Libby earlier, but we know she's dead. It had me kinda… stunned for a moment."

"Why?" Tori was almost afraid to ask. There was only one reason Dustin would be sure that the person he saw wasn't Libby. Tori didn't know Olivia very well, but she had seen the young girl on several occasions and exchanged a few words.

"She's, uh, dead, dude."

"All over Ninja Ops," Shane nodded. "A bomb hit and… well…"

"Splat," Dustin finished.

Tori nodded her head slowly, trying to follow along until she turned green.

-Fight-Flight-

Ever since Alex had the time to really sit back and take in everything that had happened, he had been in a depressive state. Casey and Theo had noticed. They spent the night with him, consoling him. After he had run into his bedroom the day before he began crying. Truly crying, too. The tears flowed liked two rivers down his cheek and his eyes and face were red and puffy. Today, still, there were signs all over his body that he had been upset by something.

RJ and Dom noticed his change in attitude as well, but steered clear, afraid that if they tried to dig they would figure out what they already knew and they too would start crying.

Alex wasn't about to leave his room, but he had a doctor's appointment. The hospital was okay with letting him leave on the first day, given they were full with other, more serious patients, but they did want to keep up with his injury to his foot. It was still really bad and even after almost a week of the injury occurring, Alex still couldn't feel anything but a sharp pain in his leg when he put pressure. The doctor's appointment was another thing that terrified him. He was now afraid of amputation.

The young boy walked from his bedroom over to the girls'. Like himself, Kelly hadn't really come out of her room much. She ate dinner with the rest of the group and joined them for an hour when they watched a movie, but she was still pretty hurt because of Hunter. Normally Alex would have left her to comfort herself. Crying older women wasn't usually his thing. But he was too scared to go to the doctor's along, and he needed a friend.

He knocked on Kelly's door and waited to hear her voice before stepping in. Kelly was lying on her bed, reading a book. She looked at him with a small smile, mostly for his sake, before checking her watch.

"Doctor?" she asked him and he nodded. Kelly put her book down after marking her page and started getting her things together. A little time away from the house might do her some good.

But as she turned to the door she finally saw Alex' face. She put her bags down and walked over to him.

"Look," she started, "whatever this doctor says it's not the end. You have your life and friends and that's more than most people have been left with. If you keep this foot, that's great, but if it's got to go, we'll take it off."

"You don't just remove a leg," Alex muttered. He was upset about the leg and it worried him greatly, but he would rather stay on this topic than move onto the other topic. The real reason he looked so upset and scared.

"I'm sorry," Kelly whispered. "I'd give you my leg if I could…"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really wish this on anyone. Not even Hunter."

"He's not a bad guy," Kelly frowned. She surprised herself. He hurt her, and yet she was still defending him.

Alex growled and clenched his fist around the handles of his crutches, "The man's an asshole."

"He has a right to be mad."

"But he has no right to just rip us all apart!" Alex shouted, suddenly losing his temper, though it should have been expected. Casey and Theo weren't the best shoulders to cry on, leaving Alex still feeling like he was keeping things bottled up even if he said all he needed to say.

"What do you mean?" Kelly frowned, curious as to what he meant by "us".

"Okay, I give him props for putting his anger aside and getting us to the fucking Ninja Academy of doom. But as soon as we found his friends he turned on you again! Even after Libby died, all that fucking, pompous, son of a bitch could think about was how you hurt him!"

"Alex!"

By now, the Jungle Rangers and Fran had gathered to the bedroom door to listen.

"He has a point," Casey nodded. Kelly shot him a look, discouraging him from encouraging Alex.

She turned back to her former employee, "Look, I'm mad at him just like you, but…"

"Then get over him!" Alex yelled. "You don't deserve him, Kelly."

Alex turned around and limped out of Kelly's bedroom. Now he was too worked up to really care what happened. All he needed was another spat like this before the amputation and everything would be smooth sailing for him.

Except Libby was dead.

-Fight-Flight-

When Tori's vomit was cleaned and Scott and Flynn came back with Flynn's results, the Ninja boys and Flynn were offered a tour of the garage to keep busy while Tori ad Dr. K decided whether or not Flynn could be a Power Ranger.

Tori made up her mind rather quickly. Flynn didn't throw up, and considering she didn't want to clean up any more messes, that was a huge check mark in her books. Dr. K was still trying to decide.

While Tori waited on Dr. K's results, Blake parted from the tour group and walked over to her.

"So, you met up with Hunter," he asked. Tori nodded.

"Yeah. We ran into each other on the streets and it was just…"

"You told him about me, right?" Blake interrupted. "I told the guys about you, even if I wasn't sure you made it inside the dome. You told my brother I was here, right? He's out there looking for me, right?"

Tori bit her lower lip. She had forgotten that little part. Truth be told, she was just so happy to see one of her friends. Dr. K didn't allow her out much and she thought it would be months, if not a year, before she would see Blake again.

"Um…"

Blake frowned, "You didn't?"

"It's not like I knew where you were… and what was I going to tell him? Oh, Blake's somewhere here…"

"Yeah!" Blake nodded. "I'm his brother! I hope he would like to know I'm alive!"

"I'm not saying he wouldn't…"

"So, the thought never crossed your mind?" Blake asked. "You invited your ex-fiancé, my _brother_, into this big, fancy garage, have him for dinner and sleep with him, and you don't even mention the fact that your boyfriend, his brother, is in the city?"

Tori lowered her head, "No…"

"So you slept with him and never once mentioned me?"

Tori's head shot up and she pointed her finger at Blake, "Hey, I did not _sleep with him_!"

"I'm sorry, should I use the same code as you? You had him for the night? Last I checked that had a double meaning. One means girl's sleepover and the other means you shared a bed with my brother!"

"What?"

"Last I checked, Hunter wasn't a girl, so that bumps out…"

"Blake, it was just dinner and…"

"You've fucked him before!"

"We were engaged!" Tori shouted. Blake shook his head and clenched his fists. He shook in anger for a moment before turning around and storming out. Shane, Dustin and Cam watched him leave, unsure if they should follow or continue the tour. Scott and Flynn were really confused about the whole thing.

Suddenly, Dr. K's voice came over the intercom, "So you had intercourse with both brothers?"

"Not now, doc!" Tori shouted before she stormed off to her bedroom.

One of the cameras turned to the boys who were left in the Garage, "Something tells me I should have done a few more tests before selecting her as my partner for the Ranger training program."

"See, this is why I don't help you guys on group dates that involve multiples or sisters," Cam pointed out, "Things always get creepy, not to mention complicated."

"Mommy, why does Uncle Dustin say you fucked our Uncle Hunter?" Shane teased, making a puppet child with his hand and all but stuffed it in Dustin's face. The yellow racer swatted Shane's hand away.

"Dude, why am I the one to spill the beans to the future kids?" he asked.

"Because you're Dustin, dude."

Dr. K's camera panned away from the boys, "This is why I avoid human contact."


	13. The Amputation

After hearing his brother was alive, Blake was on the prowl. Not only did he want to find his sole family member, but he wanted to warn Hunter to stay away from Tori. Nothing happened between the Blue and Crimson Rangers, Blake was almost sure, but there was a nagging little voice in his head that told him that their relationship wasn't over. After all, the two had been engaged at one point, and if it weren't for Kelly, they would have been married. There was no way feelings could die so quickly.

But, Blake had no clue where his brother was hiding. Tori didn't even know. There was no address, no place of employment, nothing. The only lead he had was the Garage, and he didn't want to go back. He found a bus shelter with a bench and decided to take a break there, at least for the moment, so he could figure this all out.

Just on the other side of the building behind Blake, Hunter was walking down the sidewalk, trying to figure out what to do and where to go. He wanted to be with Tori. He wanted to be back at the Garage, help her choose the Rangers and live with her, just like old times, but that wasn't possible. She had moved on. She was with Blake. He couldn't hurt his little brother like that. Technically, she was his to begin with. But he did still long for her. She was beautiful and amazing. Everyone knew that. And she was the only woman who ever gave Hunter a chance. He wasn't a big hit with the ladies. In high school he was more dark and brooding than now, and while some women were attracted to that, none ever saw him as "good date material". It didn't help that he spent most of his time at the racetrack with his bike and never felt the need to ask any of the girls on a date.

He never graduated high school, either. Neither him, nor Blake. They left school before the Twelfth Grade to attend the Thunder Ninja Academy. Then, when Lothor came, there was no time for dating. He had to focus on saving the world.

After that he had to live in the shadow of Blake Bradley. His little brother wasn't rich, but he had been pretty well off. He was extremely famous in the sports world, and the moment girls heard he was an athlete for riding a cool bike, they were all over him.

That's why Hunter started dating Tori. He couldn't compete with his little brother and so he settled for the one girl who agreed to go on a date with him. And then, he fell in love with her. Madly in love. He had been heartbroken when Kelly broke off the wedding, and still was to this day.

Even if Kelly was probably the only girl on the planet who loved him, seemingly unconditionally, she was also the girl who truly broke his heart. Hunter was afraid that if she could do that before he felt any kind of attachment for her, she could do worse if he let himself fall for her. If Tori could leave him on their wedding day, Hunter was positive someone as beautiful as Kelly could leave him at the drop of a hat.

-Fight-Flight-

"The career and job opportunities here suck!" Theo groaned as he let his head fall onto the table where the newspaper was sitting. The others were around him, all trying to take a look at job opportunities. They had three months to get off their asses and establish their careers in this new world. They needed to get started now.

"Librarian," Fran smiled. "I might be able to live with it."

"Don't live with it," Kelly frowned. "Love it."

"There's not too many options here to love," Casey stated. He pointed to one of the choices, "Sanitation engineer."

"That's not someone who cleans trains, right?" Fran asked.

"Garbage man," Theo told her. Fran furrowed her brow in disgust.

Lily shrugged her shoulders, "That's not a bad job. And you get to clean up the planet…"

Kelly glared at the young girl, "Why don't you do it then?" she offered, handing Lily the phone. The Yellow Ranger glared at the device in her new friend's hand, and then looked to everyone else.

"I'm just looking on the bright side."

"How about this," RJ smirked. He took the newspaper and held it up while he read, "Sport's Store for sale. I could buy it and turn it into a new JKP!"

"Sport's store?" Kelly asked.

"Will you give us jobs again?" Theo asked his former mentor. RJ smiled and nodded.

"Of course. First, you'll all be my little renovation helpers, then, when the store is a restaurant, you'll be my staff."

"Sport's store?" Kelly asked again, but still no one listened.

"Call him!" Lily encouraged RJ as she handed him the phone. RJ began to dial.

"Storm Chargers!" Kelly said, this time louder. RJ looked at her.

"Gasundheit," he told her.

Kelly shook her head and ripped the paper out of RJ's hands, "Sport's store!"

"Uh-oh," Dominic frowned as he placed his hand on Kelly's forehead, "I think we've finally lost her."

"No, no!" Kelly swatted Dom's hand away from her head, "I used to own a sport's store! Storm Chargers! It was doing really well until the Venjix hit!"

"Too bad," RJ pouted, afraid he might lose his opportunity. "I saw the store first!"

"But it's already a sport's store! All I need to do is buy it, get some merchandise, make a name and start selling things!"

"But pizza is a safer investment. Where are people going to play sports?"

Kelly frowned. RJ had a point. The city was big, but not big enough to accommodate to athletes, or really, to any sports fan.

She tapped her fingers, hoping for an idea as she read the paper. Suddenly, a pie chart caught her eye.

"AHA!" she shouted, pointing to the chart, "46% of survivors who made it to Corinth are between the ages of 12-25! Prime ages for sports fans!"

"Prime ages for pizza lovers," RJ smirked.

"Storm Chargers."

"JKP."

"Storm Chargers."

"JKP."

"Storm Char…" Kelly trailed off when the phone RJ was holding started ringing. Only one person knew the number to this loft, and that was Alex. She snatched the phone from RJ as he continued the debate.

"JKP! JKP! JKP!" he cried as Kelly answered the phone. With no rebuttal from her, he considered himself the winner.

Kelly's face fell when she finally hung up the phone, "Take it," she whispered to RJ. She handed him the paper again.

RJ was happy he had won, but he knew something was upsetting his opponent. He put the newspaper down and looked at her, wondering the same thing as everyone else.

"Who was that?"

Kelly looked to her friends, "Alex just came out of his appointment with the doctor. They're amputating his leg from the knee-down in half an hour and he needs us there."

"Did he say why they needed to?" Lily asked. "Is it just a useless limb now or is it…?"

"Infected," Kelly nodded. "If they do the amputation now they can keep the infection from moving up any higher. If he waits any longer he could lose the entire leg."

Kelly rushed into Alex' bedroom and grabbed his bags, knowing he would need them for his stay at the hospital. When she came back, she gathered her things, intend on staying with him as long as he needed. She was his only family now and she wasn't going to leave him, especially when he was still upset about Libby, Hunter and now his leg.

"We'll come with you," Casey said, getting up from his chair. He nodded to the rest of his friends. "He'll need all of us."

"And a good slice of pizza," RJ said as a joke, just to try and lighten the mood. The Jungles turned to him with looks that clearly told him now wasn't the time. Kelly, however, smiled.

"Alex loves pizza," she said. "Hawaiian pizza. Extra pineapple."

RJ perked up, "I can make it now! From scratch! Totally home-made and ready to serve when he can eat again!"

Kelly nodded, "Please do."

"I'll run to the store," Fran said. "Fresh pineapple is the best."

"Maybe there's a game store that's already opened up," Casey smiled. "Theo and I can check around town and see if we find anything that'll keep him entertained for the next few days."

"Lily and I will go with you," Dom said to Kelly as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "We'll keep his spirits high. I have a few travel stories I can tell him, and little miss positive over here can look on the bright side."

Kelly grinned and hugged Dom, "Thanks, all of you. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."


	14. A Friend's Suggestion

Both Scott and Flynn returned to the main room of the Garage looking completely worn down and in pain. Tori followed behind them holding a small hand-held computer device in her hand. When the boys reached the couch area they both collapsed and groaned loudly. Tori tossed her computer onto the couch and started making her way to the little kitchen.

"I think you guys deserve a little something to eat after that."

"I think I've done enough push ups for the rest of my life," Flynn muttered. He curled up on his couch and shut his eyes, "I've never hurt this much. Why did I agree to this, again?"

"Something about being a superhero," Scott reminded him. "Living out a childhood dream. Proving that good things happen to good people."

"Oh, yeah, that stupid idea."

"It wasn't that bad, guys," Tori chuckled, glancing at the two overworked boys. "At least I'm still human. You won't believe who trained my Ranger team."

Just then there was a knock at the door. Tori looked up. One thing about having a co-worker who hid away from people and observed life in the garage through cameras was that all Tori needed to do to know who was at the door was ask the Doc. Even from her bedroom it was possible to find out.

"The brother who assures me he wasn't pink."

"Hunter…" Tori groaned. She walked to the door and opened it at which Hunter rushed in.

"I think I've waited long enough," he said. "Did you find your Rangers yet?"

Tori shook her head, "Not all of them, no. I'm still missing a yellow. Not many girls tried out, and the one who did ran out of here screaming as soon as the first person threw up."

The pointed to the couches, "I did find red and blue, though. Meet Scott Truman and Flynn McAllistair."

Hunter looked at the two boys currently lying motionless on the couch. He turned back to Tori.

"You killed them already?"

"No… well, maybe, but if this killed them than it'll work out for the best. Dr. K assures me that fighting the Venjix is going to be the hardest thing mankind has ever had to do. And quite frankly, I believe him. On our way here, Blake and I fought some of his robot henchmen and boy were they…"

"Blake?" Hunter interrupted. He grabbed Tori's arm, "Blake's… here?"

Tori nodded. Now was as good a time as any to tell him, "Uh, yeah. Blake and I made it to Corinth together. We were separated when I was arrested but he and Dustin, Shane and Cam found me a few hours ago…"

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Hunter shouted, now clearly upset. Tori shrugged.

"Why am I the bad guy here?"

"He's my brother!"

"Okay, good point…"

Scott poked his head up from behind the couch, "Can you guys keep it down? It's really hard to die of exhaustion when all you do is yell."

Flynn nodded as he sat up as well. He rubbed his eyes, "Why do I get the feeling you and your team didn't get along very well?"

Tori turned and glared at the boys, "I was going to give you the night off, but I still might change my mind."

Scott and Flynn sunk back down again and hid from their trainer. Tori turned back to Hunter.

"Okay, I'm just going to get this over with. Blake and the other boys stopped by and they left a while ago. Dustin left me their address to give to you so you can find Blake."

Tori turned back to Scott and Flynn, "Am I forgetting anything?"

"Blake thinks you and Hunter had sex," Scott pointed out.

Tori turned to Hunter, "Right, that. Now you can go storm off too. Go find your brother. I think I'm going to start raiding this place until I find some kind of drug. Everyone's giving me a headache."

-Fight-Flight-

After a long day of searching, Blake finally returned home. He was tired and hungry and still very upset with both his brother and his girlfriend. As he walked to the kitchen, Cam appeared from his bedroom. He looked at the younger Bradley brother.

"Did you find him?" he asked.

Blake shook his head as he grabbed a water bottle, disappointed to see there was no alcohol anywhere in this house. After today, he needed something strong.

"If I did, do you really think I would be here?"

Cam nodded, "Good point," he pointed to one of the chairs at the table, "Can we talk for a moment, Blake?"

The navy boy shrugged, "Sure, I guess. What's up?"

"This thing with Hunter and Tori…"

"Don't try to defend him," Blake warned the samurai. "Do you know how it feels to watch your brother drool over your girlfriend?"

"To be fair, he was going to marry Tori," Cam said. He and the others had discussed this while Blake was out. They were now starting to see how crazy this love triangle, or square if you wanted to involve Kelly, was getting. Nothing made sense anymore and unwritten rules were broken. It was no wonder everything was spiralling downhill.

"After I claimed her!"

Cam furrowed his brow, "You, uh, don't claim women, Blake."

"You know what I mean," Blake grumbled.

"If you mean you slept with her, then yeah," Cam nodded, "But that was a long time ago."

"I still love her. I've always loved her."

"Maybe she moved on," Cam suggested. "What I'm trying to say is that Tori was walking down that aisle willingly, and she was going to say yes to marrying Hunter, even with you in the room. Don't you think that maybe…"

"I wasn't the one who ruined the wedding day," Blake growled. "That was Kelly. I was ready to let Tori go."

"I know that. We all know that. But… Kelly was only voicing all of our thoughts."

Blake frowned, "You've lost me, now."

"This whole thing with you, Tori, Hunter… it's crazy. You slept with her, she almost married your brother, and now she's back with you. You're going to get hurt here and, honestly, I doubt it's going to be you r hurting the most. You're so insecure about your relationship with Tori that you jump to conclusions when she tells you Hunter stayed the night. I don't know about you, but I counted five bedrooms in that garage. And, I'm pretty sure Tori and Hunter aren't sneaky enough to avoid the cameras that crazy doctor has installed everywhere."

"So?"

"So, you accuse Tori of something she probably didn't do! And don't get me started on how Hunter must be feeling. Only a few days after the cancelled wedding his bride is sleeping with his brother! I wouldn't blame him if he did sleep with her again."

"What are you saying?" Blake asked.

Cam got up from his seat, "Shane, Dustin and I have known Tori for a while. The three of us, especially Shane, are ready to kill any guy that does anything to hurt her, but… we're asking you to call everything off."

"What?" Blake asked. Cam could hear the water bottle crinkling from the pressure of Blake's fist.

"Call it off. Break up with her. Give everyone some time to figure it out. Talk to your brother when you find him and… I don't know… maybe then we'll all be on speaking terms again."

"I can't believe this," Blake shouted. He slammed the water bottle down on the table and stormed off to his bedroom. Cam rubbed his temples and turned to Shane and Dustin's bedroom door, knowing they were on the other side listening.

As their door slowly opened, Cam said: "Next time, we play rock, paper, scissors. Drawing straws was a terrible idea."


	15. Ninjas and Spirits

The smell of freshly baked pizza greeted Kelly's senses as she woke up. She had been sitting at Alex' bedside since he came back from surgery, waiting for him to wake up. The wait was long, and Kelly had fallen fast asleep.

Before opening her eyes she felt a hand on her shoulder. She yawned and stretched as she looked up, finding RJ holding a pizza box just over her head.

"Oh, just put it on the bedside table," she said. She checked the time, "It took you fifteen hours to make a pizza?"

RJ chuckled as he shook his head, "It took three. This is the third pizza. Boy that kid can sleep."

"I'd probably enjoy my dream world too if I knew I would be waking up to one less limb," Kelly said.

"The others are in the waiting room," RJ told the red head, "Casey's offered to take your place for a few hours."

"I think it's best if I'm here when he wakes up," Kelly sighed. She took Alex' hand and squeezed it gently, "No offense, but if I just came out of surgery, I wouldn't want to wake up to people I've only just met."

"Sounds pretty fair," RJ nodded. "We kind of thought the same thing. Lily went out to see if she could find Hunter."

"Hunter?"

"We know Alex and Hunter aren't talking to each other but… like you said, Alex will probably feel more comfortable waking up to a familiar face. And I doubt Hunter's going to stay mad at a sixteen year old who just lost half his leg."

"I guess," Kelly nodded. She stretched out again, only to realise she really needed to go to the bathroom. She turned to RJ, "Do you mind? I've been sitting here since he came out and I really need to…"

"Down the hall," RJ chuckled.

"I'll be back in two minutes!" Kelly assured him as she rushed off.

She made it halfway down the hall when she skidded to a stop. Ahead of her were two familiar faces. Forgetting her need to pee, Kelly raced down the hall.

"Lily, Hunter!"

"There you are," Lily smiled. She pushed Hunter forward, "I found him sitting on a park bench muttering something about staying in one place so everyone can find each other. Whatever that means."

Kelly looked at Hunter, "Did Lily tell you about Alex?"

Hunter nodded, "She did. I don't want to see him, though."

"Are you kidding me?" Kelly groaned. She was really getting frustrated now. Maybe Alex was right about Hunter being an asshole.

"He's probably frustrated enough," Hunter continued. "There's no way he's not still mad at me."

"That's his choice, Hunter. Right now can you please be a man and wait with me until he wakes up. He was really scared before going in and I'm sure if you try to show him we can all be friends again he might change his mind.

Hunter hesitated for a moment until Lily nudged him. He stepped away from her, almost fearfully, knowing what she could do to get her way. To say he was here of his own free will was a bit of an exaggeration. If the Thunder Ninja Academy didn't blow up, Hunter would sign her up for sure.

"Alright. But no holding hands and no group hugs."

"Why would we hold hands?" Kelly frowned.

Hunter shrugged, "Support? I don't know. You're a woman and you love me. I just figured you would be one of those manipulative bitches who would do anything to make this feel like a couple scenario…"

"Alex is the only thing I care about right now," Kelly said. She grabbed Hunter by the arm and started pulling him back to Alex' room. Hunter cringed. This woman had a grip!

"Ow! Ow! Are all of you women on man-hurting steroids or something?"

-Fight-Flight-

Casey spun an empty pizza box around and around as he sat with Theo, Dominic and Fran, waiting for news on Alex. He was bored out of his mind, like the rest of his friends.

Fran and Dom were playing a card game on the floor. It was a modified version of go-fish, considering this was one of the packs RJ had in his backpack and most of the clubs were missing. RJ had used them for a fire on the first night they were in the wastelands.

"Hey, did you guys notice something weird about Alex," Fran said as Dom rearranged the cards in his hand as part of the game. Fran turned to Casey and Theo after casting another glance at Dominic.

"Like what?" Theo frowned.

"When he was yelling at Kelly, before the doctor's appointment," Fran eyed Dom's cards carefully, and then her own, wondering which she should call. "Three of diamonds?"

"Nope," Dom smirked as he pointed to the puddle of cards between them, "Go fish."

Fran grabbed a new card and continued, "Well, Alex mentioned a Ninja Academy. Do you think he meant like a regular public ninja school, or a secret private school like your Pai Zhuq place?"

"I don't know," Casey frowned as he tried to recall that argument between Kelly and Alex. To be honest, he hadn't heard any mention of a Ninja School."

"They come from Blue Bay Harbour, right?" Dom asked. "When I was younger, I heard that there was a Ninja School in Blue Bay. It was placed there because of some crazy Hole of Total Evil, or something like that."

"What about those Ninja Rangers that Hunter mentioned?" Casey asked. "Do you think maybe they came from that school?"

"Probably not all of them," Theo shrugged. "Remember, that team was a little different? They all had different uniforms and different morphs and stuff. When I was little I caught them on the news a few times."

"Same here," Fran nodded. "The first three of the six Ninjas called themselves Wind Rangers. I always thought that was kinda funny. There's nothing intimidating about the wind. A tornado, maybe, but not the wind."

"Wind Rangers, huh?" Dominic asked. "That sounds kind of familiar. I think there was a ninja Academy like that."

"Maybe Hunter knows about it," Fran said. "I mean, apparently he took Kelly and Alex there. I'm sure if we ask him he'll tell us."

"That he goes to some super secret Ninja School?" Casey frowned. "No offense, Fran, but the only reason we told you about the Pai Zhuq was because you found us out."

"Well, he told Alex and Kelly," Fran said. "Why wouldn't he tell us? If's he's got nothing to hide he'll say it's a regular school."

"But if he does he might lie," Dom told her. "There's no way to know the truth."

"What if you act like you know he goes to a secret Ninja School. He might spill then."

"Why?" Casey asked. "What does it matter?"

"I just think it would be kinda cool, you know. Ninja and Kung Fu students finding each other. You guys can trade secrets and…"

"No way are we giving our secrets to Ninjas," Dominic said. "The only thing I know for sure about the Ninja Academies are that they are all elemental. It's like, water and dirt and stuff like that. A few of their academies have met up with the Pai Zhuq before and they've shown no respect towards animal spirits. They think the spirits are inferior to elements!"

"Okay, okay," Fran backed down, "You don't have to ask. It was just a thought…"

As she and Dom went back to their game, and Casey and Theo returned to their own way of passing the time, Fran muttered under her breath, "Doesn't mean I can't find out."


	16. It's Complicated

A couple of days had passed since the surgery and Alex was finally awake after a long sleep. He had worried Kelly, Hunter, the Jungles and all his doctors, but after running a few tests they realised he was fine. Alex had a laugh about it, saying he was a growing boy after all and the hospital bed was the most comfortable thing he's ever slept in. Kelly knew he was lying. The night before one of the nurses offered her a room with a bed and she had had a terrible sleep.

She didn't mention it to him though. Instead she kept in entertained with some of the games Theo and Casey bought for him. There weren't many, and most were simple children's games, but Kelly and Alex found a way to entertain themselves.

Hunter kept his distance, preferring to stay in the shadows in the corner of the room. Alex hadn't said a word to him since he'd woken up. The most interaction the two men had was whenever Alex would look up and glare hatefully. Hunter still couldn't understand it, but the more he watched Alex and Kelly, the more he felt Alex may have been right.

After a few hours came the time Alex and Hunter both dreaded. Kelly needed to leave. She had spent quite some time at the hospital now and RJ and the others were going to take her home so she could eat some real food, clean up, and get some rest. Hunter was left behind as a way to keep Alex from getting lonely.

When Kelly left the room with RJ and Theo, Hunter turned to the bed. He took a few steps forward, but never got too close.

"So, uh, the doctor mentioned phantom pain a little while ago. How's that going for you?"

Alex didn't answer. He glared at Hunter. The Crimson Ranger cleared his throat and looked around the room.

Finally, Alex spoke up, "Did you apologise to Kelly yet?"

Hunter frowned, "What?"

"You better know what I'm talking about," Alex growled. "You know exactly what you did."

"Me yelling at Kelly, you mean," Hunter sighed. He walked over to the bed and took a seat. Alex had to keep himself from pushing Hunter right off the bed. He wanted to, badly, but he knew that wouldn't accomplish anything.

Hunter looked at the young boy, "I'm sorry," he said.

"I don't want an apology," Alex said. "Kelly deserves one. She was just trying to do what she thought was best! Both times! You had no right to yell at her."

"At the wedding I did," Hunter chuckled, but Alex wasn't laughing. Hunter's chuckle died into a cough as he realised this was serious. He took a deep breath, "Okay, you're right. I was wrong to yell."

"She knew this was going to be serious," Alex stated. "My leg, I mean. She knew I was going to need help! She figured maybe you would be nice enough to help out. Maybe you could help me, you could help her, and she could help you! But you're the only person who was too thick to understand that!"

"I know…"

"No one is happy about what she did, and we don't approve of some of the reasons why she did it, but she was right in the end, wasn't she? Shouldn't you thank her for that?"

"I have," Hunter sighed.

"So then you understand everything too!"

"I'm confused right now, okay Alex," Hunter got up from the bed and walked over to the window. He looked out as he searched for the right words. "When I yelled at her, when we first made it here, I thought I lost everything. My brother, Dustin, Libby, my friends and… Tori. I was just so mad, scared, hurt and… not myself, that everything seemed… bad, you know?"

"Yeah, I had a bit of a moment too," Alex nodded. "Before my doctor's appointment. I was scared he would tell me we would have to amputate and… I miss Libby and with everything going on… I missed us!"

"Back off, there, bro," Hunter smirked. Alex shook his head.

"You know what I mean. I miss Storm Chargers. You, Kelly, Libby and Dustin. We worked well together and we had fun. But Dustin and Libby are gone, and you were mad at Kelly. I felt like I lost everything too. I yelled at Kelly."

"Seems we have something in common."

Alex smiled, "I guess."

Hunter turned back to his young friend, "Look. How about I ease your troubles a little bit, and then you tell me what I can do to make things better between us. You sound like you know everything about relationships and friendships. So, I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine."

Alex thought for a moment before nodding his head, "Deal. Give me some good news."

"Dustin and the other guys you met at Ninja Ops, they are all still alive," Hunter smiled. Alex furrowed his brow.

"But we saw them…"

"They must have avoided the bomb just like us," Hunter explained. "You have to remember, those guys are ninjas too. They have a few tricks up their sleeves."

"Cool," Alex smiled. "So that means Dustin's okay? He's here?"

"I haven't seen him yet, but I know where I can find him," Hunter nodded. "I ran into Tori and apparently they found her. Once you're out of here maybe we can organize one big reunion."

"Tori's here too?" Alex asked.

"Tori and Blake. They were the first ones here," Hunter smiled. "We didn't lose everyone. Most of us made it."

"That's pretty cool," Alex said. He looked down for a moment, "Libby's still…"

"Yeah, buddy," Hunter sighed, "Libby's still dead. But… at least now we have a bigger group of people than a few seconds ago, right?"

"I guess."

"So, how about you hold up your end of the deal?" Hunter said. He took his spot back on the bed, sitting at the foot where Alex' leg should have been. "What do I need to do to make things right?"

"Um," Alex shrugged. Really, he wasn't sure what Hunter was supposed to do. All he knew was that Hunter and Kelly needed to put a stop to whatever kept coming between them. He had seen Kelly try, but Hunter was another story. "I guess… maybe you can forgive Kelly and move on."

"Move on?" Hunter frowned. He sighed loudly, "That's not going to be easy."

"Why not?" Alex asked.

Hunter didn't know how to say it. He sighed again.

"Tori left me, remember?" he said. "I still have feelings for her."

"But, isn't she still with Blake?"

"As far as I know, yeah," Hunter nodded.

"So, get over her."

"Not that easy," Hunter turned to his friend, "It's hard to move on, you know."

Alex crossed his arms, "Tori's a bitch, though. Five minutes after the wedding that wasn't and she's in bed with your brother. Let's be honest, Hunter, I think you've been mad at the wrong woman. She betrayed you!"

"I'm starting to think you're a little biased," Hunter chuckled. "You favour Kelly."

"I don't want you to date Kelly or anything, if that's what you mean. And, I barely know Tori," Alex shrugged. "I think I should her some wax once…"

A doctor walked into the room, interrupting the conversation between Hunter and Alex. The two boys exchanged smiles before letting the doctor do his job with Alex' leg.

-Fight-Flight-

Blake leaned against the kitchen counter as he watched Tori cry. He had his arms crossed over his chest and he was waiting for her to say something. He wasn't happy with this break up, either, but Shane, Dustin and Cam were right. Things were getting weird. Really weird. Until everything was resolved and there was a clean slate, this relationship couldn't continue.

Tori didn't understand, though. She was convinced Blake was breaking up with her because he thought she had slept with Hunter. Blake had assured her that wasn't the reason, and while he had his doubts, he was starting to understand how that wasn't exactly a possibility.

It was hard watching her cry, but harder to say goodbye and know it wasn't going to last. She was still his friend and he wanted to keep in touch. He still hadn't found his brother and Tori was the only link.

Tori looked up, "Get out," she whispered.

Blake nodded. He turned to the two boys on the couch, "If I don't see you boys again, good luck with the whole Ranger thing."

"I said get out," Tori whispered again, this time with more anger in her voice. Blake started making his way to the door, before Tori decided to hit him. She one had one arm at this point, but that was all she needed.

When Blake left, Flynn turned around on the couch, "So, uh, Dr. K wanted me to ask about Ranger Yellow…"

"Bad time, dude," Scott muttered to Flynn. The Blue Ranger turned to his leader and shrugged.

"What?"

"Is this a bad time, Miss Hanson?" Dr. K's voice asked. Tori looked up at the monitors.

"What do you think?"

"I think now that our guest is gone it would be a great time to go search for a yellow Ranger."

"I know you were watching, Doc," Tori growled.

"Yes, I was," Dr. K said. "And now that you don't have a partner to distract you, we should take advantage of all this extra time and get started on our search for our final Ranger. Venjix isn't going to wait for us, you know."

"Are you serious?" Tori asked the computer voice. "Doc, were you not hearing the same thing I was hearing?"

Tori turned to the boys, "Blake just broke up with me, right?"

Scott and Flynn nodded, "Either that, or you two have a different version of foreplay than the rest of us do."

Tori rolled her eyes but turned back to the monitor, "See, Doc? So can I just have a moment?"

"Foreplay is the interaction between a man and a woman before they engage in intercourse, right?" Dr. K asked.

Tori let out a frustrated yell before she stormed off. Scott and Flynn exchanged a look.

"Yes?" Flynn answered, unsure of himself.

"I think I'll turn my monitors off," Dr. K said. "There are some things even I don't want to see."

"But doc!" Scott called just before all the monitors went blank. Flynn chuckled.

"Well, that got rid of him."

"How about you and I go find a few Ranger Yellow candidates?" Scott suggested. He reached for the hand-held computer Tori tossed aside earlier that day. "If Tori's friends keep showing up at this rate, we're never going to get a Ranger Yellow."

"So, you and I are just supposed to walk up to any random lass on the street and ask her if she wants to play Power Rangers with us?"

"Why not?" Scott shrugged.

"Where are we going to find someone who will say yes?"

Scott shrugged again. There was a knock at the door and he got up to answer it. He turned to Flynn as he walked over.

"There's got to be one woman still alive and healthy who's willing to be a Ranger. If not, I say we just cut off the skirt and…"

Scott trailed off as he opened the door to a young woman. She smiled brightly and held out her hand.

"Summer Landsdown," she shook Scott's hand, "I'm here to try out for uh… Ranger Operator Series Yellow?"

She read the name off the paper in her hands and then looked up at Scott.

"I would have been here on the original try-out date, but I had this thing with my parents…"

"S-simulator's this way," Scott stuttered, inviting the beautiful blonde girl inside. As Summer stepped in, Scott turned to Flynn. Both boys had their jaws on the ground.

"Uh, Scott…" Flynn whispered as he jumped over the couch and rushed towards his friend. Scott looked at him.

"I know."


	17. Fran Digs Deeper

Scott and Flynn stared at Tori as the trainer read over the results from Summer's testing. Even Scott and Flynn could see that Summer hadn't aced the test and it was evident that this was a strong factor in deciding whether or not she was suitable for the Yellow Morpher. However, the one part she had aced was the martial arts aspect. According to Summer, she had spent a lot of time as a young training in martial arts, simply as a way to exercise and train. She also mentioned riding a dirt bike before the Venjix hit. While that would have won her all the points she needed for yellow Ranger if Dustin had been deciding, Tori wasn't as impressed.

"I don't know, guys," Tori sighed. "I mean, she was good, but…"

"I'm good," Flynn said. "I didn't get perfect scores either, you let me in."

"Your scores were more evenly spread," Tori explained. "You were good in fighting, a little weak maybe, but you had a strong will, a high level of motivation, you persisted through the tests and while you didn't excel in any, they were all passable marks."

"And you didn't vomit," Scott added. "Summer puked… twice."

"But she's just a lass," Flynn protested. "We put her through the same tests you put us through!"

"Your point?" Tori frowned. It was a proven fact that girls were physically weaker than guys, but Tori still preferred to live in denial. It was hard not to after attending the ninja schools. While girls were accepted, the classes were still strongly dominated by men. Tori had to learn to match the boys and never received special treatment. She wasn't going to allow Summer to receive any either, especially after hearing from Dr. K that this was the only female suit in the entire team.

Tori placed the papers back down on the table, "I'm sorry, guys. I want her to be the yellow Ranger, just as much as you guys do…"

"No, you don't," both Flynn and Scott shook their heads. Tori looked at them for a moment, before turning to the other side of the garage, where Summer was waiting patiently.

"Your ulterior motives aside, you have to know that she isn't the best we can find."

"But…"

"I don't care if we find a woman with facial hair, zits, moles, unnatural physique and/or anything else that may turn you boys off. If she has higher scores all around, she's a better candidate for the Yellow Morpher."

"Yeah, she might actually scare the Venjix," Scott chuckled.

"You agree with me, right Doc?" Tori asked the socially challenged doctor. There was a pause before the doctor answered.

"I don't see a problem with postponing her final answer until we see if we can find a better candidate."

Tori frowned and turned to the computer screen sitting beside her on the table, "You choose this moment to be reasonable?"

"I would like to have a full team as soon as possible. While Miss Landsdown does not appear to meet all expectations required for the Ranger Yellow Suit, we may be able to use her to further to training of Series Operators Red and Blue."

"So, like, deception?" Scott asked. "We invite her to join the team until we find a better replacement, and then dump her for some fat, ugly, hairy chick?"

"I don't like that plan," Flynn voiced and Scott had to agree, for more reasons than one. If this Ranger was going to be the only female on the team, he wanted her to have at least a few passable features for him to look at.

"I have no problems with deception if it means creating the perfect team," Dr. K stated. "Whatever emotions Miss Landsdown may feel should we find a replacement are none of my concerns. The primary objective of Project Ranger, as well as my personal objective is to defeat the Venjix and return Earth back to its natural state."

"Yeah, good luck with that one, doc," Scott said. He turned to Tori, hoping she may be a little more reasonable than the doctor, even if Dr. K was allowing Summer to stay on until they found a replacement. "What if Flynn and I can make up for what Summer lacks?"

"That doesn't create a balanced team," Tori sighed. "Look, boys…"

"Summer's a woman, right?" Flynn asked. Tori nodded her head and Scott stared at his friend.

"You're not sure yet?"

"No, no, I am," Flynn nodded. "But, I'm still sticking to my original idea."

"Which was?" Tori and Dr. K both asked. Tori continued, "I'm sorry, with the accent, sometimes I just don't listen to you."

Flynn frowned for a moment. Why did people here keep bothering him with his accent and mention how hard it was to understand him sometimes. He was the one struggling. Everyone around him had accents and sometimes he had no idea what they were saying!

"I'm going to chose not to be offended by that _this_ time," he said before going back to topic. "What I was saying was that Summer is a lass. Maybe we didn't test her the right way."

"What are you saying?" Scott asked, genuinely intrigued. He had to admit feeling a little something for this candidate they were talking about. He also didn't want to risk sending her off and never finding a woman willing to take up the Ranger powers.

Flynn smiled at his friend before getting up. Scott and Tori exchanged looks before following him. Even Doctor K seemed to follow Flynn, as the K symbol disappeared from the monitor on the table, and reappeared on the monitors on the walls.

Flynn approached Summer, "We haven't made up our minds," he told her. Summer smiled nervously, unsure of what that meant.

Flynn continued, "You didn't pass most of the tests," he told her honestly. "You threw up on the # dimensional special orientation testing."

"You put that thing on high and I just ate lunch," Summer frowned.

"Not to mention it took you about an hour just to open your eyes afterwards," Flynn said. "You did well on motor reaction but…"

"Don't remind me," Summer groaned as she rubbed the spot on her chest that was still red. This test consisted of locking her inside a room and tossing in large, pink, rubber balls. Summer's test involved avoiding the dozens of balls as they bounced around. Needless to say, she didn't avoid them all, all the time."

"You freaked in the anatomical stress resistance test."

"Who wouldn't?" Summer frowned, "But I don't think I failed that. I didn't completely freak out."

"You cried at the end."

"It's only been a week since the Venjix and you put me through a war zone simulator to see if I'm going to be stressed or not?"

"That may have been a bad choice," Scott added in, turning to Tori. "We accidentally set it to War Zone instead of earthquake."

"Still," Tori said, "What do you think a Ranger battlefield is?"

Summer turned to the older blond woman, "Look, I know I didn't do well on most of these tests, but I don't see a bunch of candidates, male or female, lining up outside waiting for their turn."

"Try-outs were days ago."

"And if I remember correctly there were more people running away from here screaming after the first hour than there were people who tried out."

Tori frowned. Summer was actually right about that part. Maybe of the candidates who tried out brought friends and family for support. Within the first hour, everyone, including family, friends, and candidates who still hadn't taken their turn in the simulations, were running, screaming, crying, and vomiting all over the Garage floor.

"At least I'm still here," Summer said, bringing up a good point. At the end of the day on try-outs, Scott had been the only person left.

Now, Summer stood toe-to-toe with Tori. She looked up at the older woman.

"Believe me; no one wants this Ranger position more than I do. I may not be perfect Ranger material, but I bet you none of the Rangers were when they first received their morphers. Venjix needs to be stopped, and the only way that's going to happen is if you have a team behind you, ready to fight for as long as they can and as hard as they can."

Tori was speechless. Summer was right. No one was ever ready to be a Power Ranger. Tori could still remember her first day. She didn't even know how to morph!

Summer continued: "Venjix robbed me of the one person who knows who I truly am. It's because of that thing that I might never find out. I want the chance to prove to myself that I'm not the person I am right now. I want to make things right."

With her good hand, Tori gently pushed Summer away, giving herself a little breathing room.

"Welcome to the team," she smiled. Tori turned around to a confused and irate computer screen. "Looks, Dr. K. I know what you're thinking but… I kinda like her."

"We will discuss your decision-making abilities later, Miss Hanson."

"Hey, you hired me for my decision making abilities," Tori pointed out with a smile. "And anyways, the kid's right. If you did your research properly, you'll see that Dustin, Shane and I were possibly the three worst students at the Wind Ninja Academies. If we can be defenders of the universe, surely Little-Miss-Simulation-Failure over there has what it takes to bring down the Venjix."

"Should I be insulted?" Summer asked her two teammates. Flynn shrugged.

"We haven't figured either one of them out yet."

Scott nodded, "Yeah, all we know is that the Doctor is socially… unable to make friends…"

"And Tori's got way too many difficulties keeping friends," Flynn smirked.

"Or boyfriends," Scott finished with a small chuckle.

Tori turned around to face the three Rangers who were talking behind her back. She heard what they said and she wasn't happy about it.

"Excuse me."

"Endurance test number two," Scott whispered to Summer as he and Flynn started pulling on her arms, "Run away from the Ninja."

"As fast as you can!" Flynn added before the two of them took off. Summer turned back to Tori for a moment and noticed the anger and pain.

"Uh, wait up!" she called to the boys as she took started to run.

-Fight-Flight-

With Alex feeling better, and things closer to normal than ever, the Jungles opened their doors to Hunter, allowing him to stay at their place until he could find his brother and friends. Alex was still in the hospital, but Kelly and Hunter were taking turns staying with him. Neither wanted to leave him without company. Tonight was Kelly's night.

Hunter, Dom, RJ, Casey and Theo were sitting on the couch, watching TV on the new set that had been dropped off at their door. With the Venjix still being a new virus, the city of Corinth wanted to limit the number of useless technology until they could be certain that there wasn't a strain of the virus present in the dome. Today, it had been confirmed that television sets were okay to use and so the city generously dropped one off at each door.

With a full pizza each and the sports channel in HD, the boys were completely gone to the world. The only reminder that they were present was their occasional shouting, cheering, and hissing.

Lily and Fran were sitting at the kitchen table, playing one of the games they had taken from Alex. It was starting to feel like the hospital had more things to do than at home. A few books and one TV set (which the guys claimed as theirs) could only do so much.

As Lily rolled the dice, Fran contemplated asking her a few questions about the Academy Alex had mentioned. While it was almost certain that Dominic knew more than Lily (and that RJ knew just as much, maybe a little less than Dom due to his lengthy but untraditional training), Lily knew more than Casey and possibly Theo.

Fran had learned that Lily had been at the Academy for almost a year before Theo was finally recruited. The two became quick friends when Lily noticed a few of her classmates picking on the new kid because he was so short. The Cheetah found this behaviour unacceptable and invited Theo to train with her. Thankfully too, because when Master Mao walked by and saw Theo and Lily training together, he realised that he placed Theo in the wrong category for his skill level. He boosted Theo up one class and that was how Theo and Lily wound up together and became best friends.

That extra year may have been a Fran needed to get her information about the Ninja Academy before she confronted Hunter about it.

"Hey, Lily, can I ask you something?" Fran spoke as Lily moved her game piece across the board. It was evident that Lily was finding this very strange new game to be very entertaining.

The former yellow Ranger looked up with a smile, "Shoot."

"What do you know about a Ninja Academy?"

Lily's eyes rolled up in thought for a moment as she tried to recall her class on foreign fighting styles and different classes. One thing she remembered was that unlike the Pai Zhuq, the Ninja Academy had several different schools, each with their own style and elements.

"You mean in general or any school in particular?" she asked Fran. The bookworm shrugged.

"I'm not sure," Fran told her. "It just that the guys and I were talking earlier and… do you remember Alex saying something about a ninja Academy?"

Lily nodded, "I do, but I'm not reading into it too much. Why, do you think martial arts is more your thing?"

"Are you kidding?" Fran chuckled, "Fighting's not my thing, period. Dom tried teaching me a little when we were in Europe and I was laughed at in over ten languages!"

Lily laughed. She couldn't really imagine Fran doing very well with a teacher like Dominic. The Rhino Ranger was an excellent teacher; it was just difficult for him to teach students with no experience in fighting at all; especially when those students had no interest in violence even for self-defence, and would rather sit under the large tree at the Pai Zhuq and read a book.

"Then why did you ask?"

"Blue Bay Harbour, that's where Hunter's from. Dom says there's a Ninja school there."

"There is," Lily smiled. For that class, she had to draw up a map of all the ninja Academies. It was the first year Master Mao asked his students to do such a task. He said he recently realised that it was important for his students to know where to seek help should they ever be separated from the Pai Zhuq. Lily loved doing that project (unlike Theo who only did it to get it out of the way). "The Wind Ninja Academy, if I remember."

"The first Rangers to appear in Blue Bay were called the Wind Rangers," Fran said. She looked at Lily, hoping her friend was making the same connection she was.

Lily just seemed lost, "Yeah, so? I'm willing to bet all fighting schools have emergency morphers or plans like we did. I mean, Master Mao didn't send us to be Rangers, but he did send us to defend the planet. Maybe the Wind Ninjas Sensei was just…"

Lily trailed off when something clicked in her mind. She checked the couch to make sure the guys were still off in their own world, before grabbing Fran's arm and pulling her towards RJ, Dom and Hunter's bedroom.

"What are we doing in here?" Fran asked. Lily picked up Hunter's crimson bag and started digging through it.

"I remember seeing something when Hunter's stuff fell out of his bag earlier," Lily said before feeling leather fabric brush against her fingers. She smiled as she grabbed it and pulled it out. She held it up for herself and Fran to see. To Lily's surprise, delight, and horror, she saw the insignia of the Thunder Ninja Academy on Hunter's Leather Sensei Uniform.

She gasped loudly, "Oh my god!"

"I know!" Fran breathed. "Their uniforms are so much better than yours!"


	18. Relationships

Lily's hands dropped to her sides, but she continued to hold onto Hunter's Ninja uniform. She glared at Fran, almost insulted at her friend's ignorance.

"You know, for the only person who would rather stimulate her brain and read a book instead of watch TV, you really are clueless," Lily frowned. Fran was taken back. She wasn't offended, just surprised that Lily did possess the ability to insult her true friends.

"I'm just saying, compared to those pyjamas Theo showed me, this uniform is pretty… cool."

"This is a Sensei uniform," Lily stated, pointing to the Sensei insignia on the right breast, just below the Crimson Thunder symbol. "Senseis have cooler uniforms than the students do."

"And cooler than all the Pai Zhuq uniforms," Fran muttered as Lily laid the uniform out on the bed. The bookworm turned to her friend, "Did you guys keep your uniforms?"

"I kinda didn't have time to grab mine," Lily frowned. "I was too busy trying to push the metal pole off my body before the second bomb hit!"

"Right… I guess Ninjas carry their uniforms on them at all times."

"Except right now," Lily said. She crossed her arms as she started pacing the room, trying to figure out what to make of this. Had Hunter of been from the Wind Ninja Academy there would have been no problem. From what Lily had learned, the Wind Ninja Academy had always been a rather peaceful place. Ninjutsu had been taught solely in self-defence, and the Senseis prided themselves on nurturing peaceful and respectable students. The Thunder Ninja Academy wasn't known for peace. They were slightly more aggressive.

As Lily walked around the room, Fran finally noticed her Master Tattoo on her upper forearm. She hadn't seen it in a while due to all the Jungle Rangers wearing long sleeve shirts. It was still the middle of winter so it made sense to want to bundle up.

"I wonder if Hunter has something like that," Fran said as she pointed to Lily's tattoo. The cheetah frowned and looked down before shaking her head.

"Ninjas don't do this. They just have cooler uniforms and act all wise and respectable and stuff."

"So, Hunter wouldn't recognise that tattoo on Casey, RJ or Theo?"

"If he ever studied the Pai Zhuq he…" Lily trailed off, loosing herself in another thought. Fran leaned forward slightly as she waited for her friend's answered.

"He…? He? He would? He could? He should? He might?"

"He may have already noticed it."

"When?" Fran asked. "He just got here and the guys are all wearing sweaters. The only way he could have seen it was if…"

"RJ changed shirts," Lily said. She rushed to the door and made sure it was shut properly before turning to Fran. "Remember that kid spilt juice on RJ just as we were leaving the hospital? RJ helped Hunter bring this bag into this room and changed shirts while Hunter was still in here! He could have seen it."

"So what?"

"So? If he knows about it, why wouldn't he bring it up?"

"Maybe he did?" Fran suggested. "Maybe RJ already knows that Hunter knows. Maybe Hunter thinks that we know that he knows and that we know that he knows about you."

Lily frowned, taking a moment to try and make sense of those words.

"What?"

"I don't know," Fran frowned. "Why are we freaking out?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know. I just think it's weird that he might know but not let us know that he knows."

"Wouldn't he tell us if he knew?" Fran asked. "I mean, it's not like there's anything to hide. We all have secrets. And what's he going to do, try and take us all out because of some Ninja-Pai Zhuq rivalry thing? I mean, hello, five of you and only one of him."

"It's a little more complicated than that, Fran," Lily said. Fran studied the younger girl. Ever since they had found the Thunder Uniform Lily seemed a little jumpy. There was definitely a little more going on between the Thunder Academy and the Pai Zhuq than Fran knew. "We can't just tell him."

"We can't?" Fran asked. "Why not? What are you not telling me?"

"There was one time the Pai Zhuq came into contact with a Ninja Academy," Lily began.

-Fight-Flight-

As Alex reached out for the glass of water Kelly was handing him, he looked up at his friend's face with a small smile. He took the glass and took a sip as she took a seat beside him. When he put the glass down he turned to her.

"You're being quite tonight, Kel," he said. "And you let me win at snakes and ladders."

"I didn't let you win," Kelly frowned. "I rolled a five and hit that long snake thing."

"Actually, the dice landed on the side of the board on both the five and the six. You chose the five and landed on the snake, instead of choosing the six and going up the ladder."

"I was being a fair player; the five was facing up slightly more than the six."

"You're the only person I've seen purposely take the long snake down," Alex chuckled. "Anyways, now I'm going to change the subject."

"Well, don't hold back on the subtlety or anything," Kelly said. "Feel free to announce what's really on your mind, no matter the topic we were previously on."

"Where are you and Hunter?"

Kelly blinked, "Well, I'm at the hospital and Hunter's at home with the others."

"No, I mean your relationship. What's happening?" Alex asked eagerly. He sat up in his bed as he waited for the answer. Kelly took a moment to think. This almost sounded like a trick question. She knew Alex and Hunter had made up but what did that have to do with herself and Hunter.

"Pass."

"You can't pass," Alex frowned. Kelly shook her head.

"Yes I can! I choose to pass."

"Did he apologize to you yet?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, before he left he… how do you know about that?" Kelly looked at the young boy, still stuck in his hospital bed. Alex averted his gaze, trying to find something to focus on. Suddenly he felt a fist connect with his arm.

"Ow! I don't want to lose that too!"

"You told him to apologize to me, didn't you?" Kelly asked. Alex rubbed his shoulder and shrugged.

"You hit me!"

"Answer my question or I'll hit you again!"

"Amputees of the world: be careful! This woman doesn't discriminate against… OW!"

"Answer me!"

"Okay, I told him I to apologize," Alex finally admitted. Kelly rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Alex looked at her for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to explain himself in a way that didn't seem like he was trying to meddle with Hunter and Kelly.

"I don't want you two to start a relationship or anything," he started. "I know that you two don't have to date for us to be a family. And I think it might be kinda awkward, you know. You kissing Hunter and stuff… OW! Stop that!"

Kelly chuckled. She was entertained and Alex could definitely take the hits. It helped that he was still receiving pain killers to help him deal with his leg. She didn't feel as bad for hurting him.

"Look, Kel, the way he was treating you was really out of line. He needed to apologize. But you deserve better than him, you know that, right?"

"What are you, my father?" Kelly asked. "Newsflash, Alex, you can't help who you fall in love with. Hunter may have done some mean things towards me, but I'm not over him. Just like he's not over Tori."

"And that's why this thing won't ever work!" Alex said. "He's not moving on and he won't! You remember the reason you broke up his wedding, right? The reason he got mad at you?"

"Tori was in love with someone else."

"Well, Hunter's in love with Tori," Alex said, "I want him to move on, and he does too, but… I don't want you to date him, Kel. Ever."

"But dad, I'm not a kid anymore! I can make my own decisions!" Kelly whined, though there was a smile on her face. She suddenly stole Alex' pillow and hit him with it once. Alex grabbed the pillow and held it tight so Kelly couldn't hit him again.

As Alex tried to readjust himself in his bed, Kelly leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"I appreciate you looking out for me, kid, but I can take care of myself," she whispered to him. "I'm not going to let myself get hurt so don't worry about me. Just be sixteen, okay?"

Alex rolled his eyes, "I've got my eye on you," he said.

Kelly chuckled. She adjusted Alex' blankets before she walked to the light switch and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight," she said to him. "I'll be in the other room. Just knock on the wall if you need me."


	19. Tension

That night, Lily had trouble sleeping. When she was asleep she was haunted by nightmares. Nightmares about what had happened years ago, but also nightmares, or flashbacks rather, about the evacuation. When she was awake, she tossed and turned in her bed with a sole thought running through her mind. Hunter, a Thunder Ninja and Pai Zhuq rival, was sleeping in the room right beside hers.

Fran was sleeping like a baby and Lily could understand why. To Fran, the story about the Pai Zhuq and the Thunder Ninja Academy meeting up seemed like a fable. A story one would tell little kids around the camp fire.

The meeting hadn't been intentional. The Thunder Ninja Academy and the Pai Zhuq Academy were relatively close in distance. Though the closeness would have lead people to believe that the two Academies were in constant communication, the truth was far from that. There was only a minimum communication between the two schools, solely for the purpose of ensuring that Dai Shi and Dark Ninja Warriors were kept at bay.

Ever since the creation of the two Fighting Academies there had been a rivalry. A healthy one, if anything. The two schools were different, but as a whole they were similar. They taught the art of Kung Fu or Ninjutsu, which, when one thought about it, simply meant they were two different branches of the same initial point. They taught students to fight, defend themselves, and keep the Earth safe from evil. All students, Senseis and Masters took part in this once healthy rivalry. If ever Ninjas and Pai Zhuq students discovered each other, a few pranks would be pulled, a few sparring matches would occur, but, for the most part, the two schools parted without any animosity.

There had been a few instances though where the relationship between the two different arts was tense. Not only did their existence a rather large different in fighting styles – Kung Fu vs. Ninjutsu – there also existed a huge difference in power. The Ninjas were elemental. They connected with the earth, the air, the water and anything else the planet had to offer them. Lily was even sure she had heard Master Mao once talk about Leaf Ninjas. The Pai Zhuq had animal spirits. Unlike the Ninjas, they needed to nurture their power before unleashing it. They needed to raise their animals from cubs before finding their full power. Ninjas couldn't understand the point of possessing an animal spirit if it served no purpose. Unlike the Pai Zhuq, once they found which element they belonged to they would quickly master their skills.

When Lily first began training at the Pai Zhuq, before Theo showed up, there had been one incident that had changed everything between the Ninjas and the Pai Zhuq, as well as severely ruined any possible alliance or friendship between the Thunder Ninja Academy and the Pai Zhuq. It happened in Lily's early time at the Pai Zhuq, shortly after Dominic had left, after RJ had left, but before Theo or Casey joined.

Two students from the Thunder Ninja Academy had accidentally stumbled upon the Pai Zhuq and entered the training grounds. This wasn't a usual mistake, one that would happen only once every few hundred years, but it had happened previously. Usually, it was written that when one school were to enter the grounds of another school, there would be a friendly competition for power. This was a rule between any schools, as far as Lily understood. If a ninja from one school were to step onto the grounds of another ninja Academy, they would have to fight with another student from the home school.

Lily had witnessed the fight. The two students from the Thunder Ninja Academy had chosen their two opponents and the fight was well underway. It was supposed to be a friendly competition; the Pai Zhuq defending their territory and the Thunders demonstrating their power and style.

Suddenly, one of the Thunder students got the upper hand over his opponent and knocked the Pai Zhuq student down. Just as he was about to take his adversary out, he was struck by a powerful Coyote Spirit. The Spirit came from the other Pai Zhuq student, who had taken a quick moment to defend his friend in hopes of levelling out the battle field once more. Fuelled with anger, the Thunder Ninja left his adversary and rushed the other student. He knocked him to the ground and started throwing punches.

The other Thunder student watched for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. Lily remembered watching him as he turned to gaze at the Pai Zhuq who had fallen. Not once had a friendly fight ever allowed for two students to attack one. Now that his ally had switched opponents, this Ninja was supposed to switch as well.

But he didn't. While the other Pai Zhuq struggled to get back to his feet, the Thunder Ninja left him alone and helped out his friend. He threw the final punch, knocking out the Pai Zhuq student his friend was taking care of. Then, both Thunders stood up, summoned their power together, and took care of the final Pai Zhuq.

The entire school was outraged, ready to defend their honour when Master Mao showed up. He banished the two Thunder Ninja from returning and promised to solve the matter with the Thunder Academy's Sensei.

Nothing ever happened though. There had never been a formal apology. Over the years, Pai Zhuq students who remembered the incident would sometimes leave Pai Zhuq grounds and try to make it to the Thunder Academy. They never returned.

This terrified the students. Most had seen just how violent the Thunder Ninjas could be. Lily would never forget how she felt as she watched the two students, burning with irrational rage, beat two of her seniors into submission and left them, bruised and broken.

And now, there was one Thunder Ninja in the other room. And he had already shown Lily that he had a temper.

Lily rolled over in bed again, trying to find a comfortable position, but she couldn't take her mind off what she had just learned. There was screaming in her head, which didn't seem to help her insomnia.

-Fight-Flight-

The lights turned on suddenly in the Ranger Garage, revealing the figure trying to sneak out of her bedroom. The K symbol appeared on the computer screens on the wall as the sneaky figure looked up.

"What?" Tori groaned.

"You should be in bed, Miss Hanson," Dr. K stated. Tori rolled her eyes. The doctor was very strict about bedtimes. She hoped that being a ninja meant that once the lights were out she could sneak away for a moment, but apparently Dr. K was good.

"I just need a moment," Tori said. "I don't know if you've noticed, Doc, but my life doesn't revolve around…"

"At the present time you do not have a life, Miss Hanson," Dr. K reminded the Wind Ranger. "You are still property of Corinth Military and my employee for choosing and training Ranger candidates. You are only to leave this Ranger base with my permission."

"Can I leave, please?" Tori asked.

"No," was Dr. K's short reply. Tori frowned.

"What if I wanted to see if there was a doctor or pharmacy? You guys haven't given me anything for my shoulder!" Tori lifted her shoulder gently with her good arm, hoping to win some sympathy points from the doctor.

"I am a doctor," Dr. K pointed out.

"Alright, come out here, give me pills and fix my shoulder!"

"You've sleep past nights without a problem," Dr. K said. "I don't see why tonight would be any different. Now return to bed, Miss Hanson."

Tori lowered her head and took a few steps in the direction of her room before realising something. There was nothing the doctor could do to stop her. In all the time Tori had known Dr. K, she had never seen his face.

Tori turned around and faced the computer screen closest to her. She shook her head, "No."

With that she started making her way to the door.

"No?" Dr. K said, questioning Tori's refusal to obey. Tori nodded. She started making her way to the door.

"That's right. No," she told the doctor. "I don't see why I need to follow your rules. That Colonel guy proved I wasn't a treat and you all blackmailed me into coming here! If I'm allowed to have my friends over, why can't I go outside for a few moments?"

"You have five minutes," Dr. K stated firmly. "After five minutes if you are not back inside the Garage, I will wake the Rangers as well as alert Corinth Military that you've escaped."

"Fine," Tori growled. She walked to the kitchen, grabbed the phone and took it with her as she left. She slammed the door behind her and sat down on the hard pavement. She leaned against the wall with her back and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. She dialled the numbers on the paper and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

The phone rang three times before Tori heard a voice.

"_It's three a.m. Who the hell are you and what do you want?"_

Just the person Tori was looking for.

"Shane? It's Tori."

Tori could almost see Shane's expression changing, though he was nowhere in sight. She had known him for so many years that she could just picture all of his movements in his mind. She was certain that at this point, Shane was crawling out of bed with his hand holding the phone tight. He would be grabbing a shirt or something to cover himself up, and taking this conversation to the main room in his house.

After a brief silence, Shane spoke, _"What's up, Tor?"_

Tori shrugged her shoulders before answering, "It's about Blake."

"_We know what happened," _Shane told her, but he planned on leaving out his role in the break-up. It had been his idea. It would only hurt her to know and Shane didn't want her to feel like she had no one on her side.

"I figured that much," Tori said. "But… can you come over? Contrary to popular belief, Dr. K is not a good person to talk to about relationships."

Shane chuckled, _"Wow! Is that so?"_

There was a smile on Tori's lips for a fraction of a second, "And I don't want to bother the Rangers with this. They're just kids. They don't understand this."

"_I'll be right over,"_ Shane told her before hanging up the phone. Tori smiled again. She picked herself up off the ground and took a deep breath. She turned to the door and hurried inside. One thing was for sure. Dr. K was no kidding about calling in the army.

"Are you happy?" Tori asked. She checked the clock, "Four minutes and a half."

"You still have half a second of time."

"Bill me!" Tori told the doctor before storming off to her bedroom. She was going to wait up until Shane arrived, but she needed her privacy from the doctor. Her bedroom wasn't completely safe from the doctor's all-seeing eyes, but it was better than any other room; mainly because there was no way out. Tori's room was the only room with no windows and only one door. While the military trusted her enough not to lock her up in prison, they didn't trust she wasn't going to run away.


	20. Spilt Milk: What's Done is Done

Shane handed Tori a glass of water as he sat beside her on the bed. He wrapped his arm around his surfer friend.

"Maybe the break-up isn't that bad," Shane shrugged. "I mean, it's not like you and Blake's can't ever date again."

Tori glared at the man she had always seen as a brother, "Uh, Shane, do you not understand the concept of break-up?"

"Taking a break," Shane nodded. He squeezed her gently, "Just look at it as a few days, months… or you know, some time to really just relax, have fun and figure out what you really want. You've dated both Bradley brothers. What's next? Cam?"

"I guess it's not the break-up that's bothering me," Tori pulled her legs up on the bed and rested her chin on her knees. She breathed deeply, "It's just… this whole Venjix thing."

"These Rangers have it easy," Shane chuckled. "They get a training period. Back in our day, when evil arrived, it was ready or not!"

"And we weren't ready," Tori nodded. She turned to Shane, "You, Dustin and Cam… have you guys found anyone you know? Aside from me and Blake and Hunter, I mean."

Shane shook his head. Sadly he hadn't seen anyone he knew yet. He knew the odds were stacked against him ever finding his family, or ever seeing them again. He hoped not to focus on that. He didn't want to have to deal with it.

"I don't think anyone else from Blue Bay Harbour made it, Tor," Shane whispered gently to her. He hugged her. "At least, no one we know."

Tori suddenly turned to look at him, a horrified look on her face. She had never thought of this before, and felt guilty for it.

"Sensei!"

That was all she had to say before Shane's face fell. No one had broken the news to her. He wasn't even sure Blake knew yet. He shook his head again.

"He died, along with Libby. They both kinda… didn't make it out of Ninja Ops."

"So that's it?" Tori asked. She could feel a lump rising in her throat, but she didn't want to cry. "We're all that's left of Blue Bay Harbour? Everything from before is just… gone?"

Shane nodded his head this time, but the news wasn't getting any better, for himself or for Tori.

"Hey," Shane whispered softly. He held her close, "We still have each other."

"Barely," Tori pulled away from Shane, "Blake doesn't want me…"

"It's not that, Tor…"

"I don't know where my family is…"

"Tori…"

"Sensei's dead! The World's gone! It's just us!"

Tori clenched her glass tightly in her hand.

"We're screwed, Shane! This is it! It's all over, isn't it? Project Ranger is a joke!"

"No, no!" Shane shook his head. He touched Tori gently, afraid that if he got too close she might pull away and freak out. She was upset. It was understandable. He was upset too. It was hard to face the facts. The World had ended. "Tori, listen to me. We still have a chance!"

"What chance?" Tori asked. "Have you met my team? A military brat, a superhero wannabe and a… a… a freaking season! And it's not even the hated season! It's not even the harsh, cold, threatening winter! It's the freaking summer!"

"Summer can be pretty hot," Shane shrugged. Tori shoved him.

"Why do you all think that?" she shouted. Shane backed off again. Clearly there was a history with this Summer girl.

"I mean she's fat and ugly?" Shane frowned. He tried reaching for his friend again, "Look, we're going to make it, okay? We don't need anyone else!"

"Says you," Tori muttered.

The former Red Ranger finally felt comfortable with moving in closer to her. He placed his hands gently on her upper arms, careful to avoid her injury.

"Look at me," he instructed. Tori turned away childishly. Shane wasn't about to give up. "Tori, look at me."

Reluctantly, Tori turned to face her "brother". Shane smiled to lift her spirits, even just a little bit.

"We're going to be okay," he told her without breaking eye contact. Tori continued to stare at him for a moment, almost hoping he was going to give away some lack of confidence. But Shane's courage came through with his smile and Tori knew he was being honest with her.

Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close to him, "You're going to be okay. We made it here safe and sound," he looked at her shoulder, "For the most part. We'll take care of each other. Everything will be okay between you, Blake, and Hunter and we're going to do all we can to make sure this new team of misfit Rangers is ready to take on the big bad computer virus, okay?"

He felt Tori nodding her head. By now she had buried it in the crease between his neck and shoulder. He rubbed her back gently.

"If we can stop Lothor, they can stop a nasty virus. And, if all does go wrong, I'm sure Cam can install some mega Anti-Virus or something."

Tori laughed. Shane had made her laugh. He smiled with her heard this and kept going.

"Why do I feel like the first person who thought of that?" he asked. "Who is the dingbat who let this virus thing loose anyways? I mean, someone must have opened up some freaky e-mail and thought, well hey, this looks like a fun virus. Maybe my friends will like it."

Tori chuckled again.

"The dingbat who unleashed this virus is probably dead anyways," Shane shrugged. "At least we know it's not going to happen again. I think everyone's going to be careful once we get computers back."

Before letting her go to bed, Shane squeezed Tori once more and kissed her cheek, "Look, everything's going to be okay. Maybe this Dr. K person and that scary Colonel know what they're doing. And, next to Cam, you're probably the best person left on the planet to whip these kids into shape. Maybe you'll be the person who turns the military brat into some tough Green Beret of G.I. Joe, or you'll turn the superhero wannabe into a Superman! Maybe, just maybe, you'll turn that summer into a harsh, robot killing, winter."

He laid her down into bed, careful not to hurt her shoulder. He did wonder how she slept. He knew she enjoyed sleeping on her side from the times they had to camp out at Ninja Ops.

He pulled the blankets over her and kissed her forehead. As he was about to leave he turned to Tori and felt a wave of sadness. Tori chuckled and pat the empty space beside her.

"C'mon," she said. Shane rushed into bed and grabbed his share of the blankets.

"Now you've made me sad!"

As Tori and Shane got comfortable on their respective sides of the bed, Dr. K came over the intercom system.

"Another one?"

"Shut up, Doc!"

-Fight-Flight-

"So, Hunter," Fran started as she sat at the breakfast table with Hunter and the rest of the boys. Lily was still sleeping in her bedroom. Fran knew she hadn't gotten much sleep. The young cheetah had woken up from a nightmare several times over the night, panting and terrified.

Hunter turned to Fran when he heard her call her name, "What?"

"How did you sleep?"

Hunter shrugged, "Fine, I guess. I mean, Dominic snores but after a few hours you get used to it."

"You said your brother was worse," Dominic said. Hunter smirked.

"Hey, Blake's bad, but at least he's got moments of silence. With you it's like a charging rhino in a sheet metal factory. It just never stops!"

Dom and the boys chuckled nervously, though they hid it well from Hunter. Fran smiled to herself. She turned to Hunter once more.

"About rhinos…"

"Fran!" Theo called, grabbing his friend's arm, "Can I see you in the kitchen? RJ spilt the milk."

"I did?" RJ frowned as he held the jug in his hand. Theo smacked his master's hand, causing RJ to spill the milk onto the floor.

"I must be psychic," Theo said. He reached down to pick up the jug and pulled Fran with him. The two were shielded from Hunter and the others by the counter. Theo grabbed the jug and looked at Fran, "What are you doing?"

"Lily and I did some snooping!" Fran said with a smile. "Hunter's a Ninja!"

"SHH!" Theo hushed her, placing his hand over her mouth. He looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was eavesdropping. "You snooped?"

"We found Hunter's cool uniform in his bag. Lily said he was a Lightning or Thunder Ninja or… something like that."

"Whatever, we don't need to bring this up," Theo stated firmly. He stood back up and grabbed a rag from the sink. Fran stood up as well. She looked at Theo.

"Why not?" she asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. Theo rolled his eyes, trying to find a way to talk to her, without letting the other know what they were talking about.

"Look, it's no big deal, alright? What's done is done."

"But…"

"Fran, it's in the past, okay. Can't we just clean it off and move on?"

"What?"

"Just drop it, okay? There's no need to bring this up ever again."

By now Theo was sure the others were listening. It was confirmed when RJ leaned over.

"I can clean up the milk if you two are going to fight."

"It's fine, RJ. We'll just talk about this later," Theo said. He wiped the floor clean before walking off; hoping Fran would keep her mouth shut while he was gone.

Hunter turned to Fran and the boys as Theo left, "Dude, it's just spilt milk!"

Casey nodded, "Meet Theo."


	21. Lily's Panic

Kelly couldn't help but smile, even with the weight of a sixteen year old boy pressing down on her arm. After the amputation, Alex had been given a prosthetic leg so he would still be able to walk, and eventually, lead a normal life. It took time to get used to it, though, and before Alex could learn how to live with it, he needed to get used to walking with it.

With his energy back after the amputation, Kelly had offered to take him to the hospital park on a walk. Alex was stumbling constantly, trying to get used to the feel of the fake leg, but he was making quick progress. Soon he wasn't going to need Kelly's help.

But Kelly was still going to worry.

"Just take it easy, kid," she said to him as she felt him releasing his grip on her arm. She could tell Alex was going to try venturing off on his own. "Careful, slowly, that's it…"

"What are you, my mother?" Alex groaned, growing tired of Kelly coddling him. He was sixteen, he knew how to walk.

"We've established that, Alex," Kelly smirked. "You're _my_ father. With the way you've been warding off all the doctors who look at me…"

"Don't date a doctor," Alex said. "They're always on call."

"Just take it easy. You're not used to…"

Kelly didn't get to finisher sentence before Alex fell over and his prosthetic leg fell off. She rushed over, grabbing his arm and reaching for his leg.

"Are you okay?" she worried before someone clapping in the background caused her to look up. She smiled when she saw Hunter approaching. It was his turn to spend the day with Alex and look after him.

"That was pure genius, little man," Hunter mocked the sixteen year old before pulling Alex to his feet. The teenager rolled his eyes as Kelly helped him attach his leg back on.

"Hey, this isn't easy."

"Not with mother hen hovering over you," Hunter told him. He smirked as he glanced at Kelly, "Let a man teach this kid to walk."

"You think you can do better?" Kelly asked. She placed her hands on her hips and shot Hunter a look that told him she was ready for a challenge. Hunter held his gaze for a moment with a grin plastered on his face.

"First person to get him to walk chooses what we eat from the hospital cafeteria."

"Ha," Kelly scoffed, shaking her head, "I've been eating that food for days. If I get him to walk, you're paying for my dinner, at a real restaurant while you stay here at the hospital with the kid."

"What do I get if I walk?" Alex frowned. This challenge didn't sound like it had an upside for him.

Both Kelly and Hunter looked at him, "The ability to walk."

Alex rolled his eyes while Hunter and Kelly sealed their deal. Kelly took a few steps back. She had her turn teaching Alex to walk; now it was Hunter's, and boy was she excited to see this.

Hunter helped steady Alex before taking a few steps away from the boy, allowing him to stand on his own.

"Okay," Hunter said, "Now… walk."

Alex and Kelly turned to Hunter after that instruction, both wondering how it was going to help Alex walk. Alex scratched his head, gave Kelly a look, and then tried putting one foot in front of the other, using his prosthetic leg first. He took a single step and Hunter was beaming with pride, but when it came time to take his second step, Alex had no idea how to balance on the fake leg and he tumbled over.

Kelly winced as she watched. This was going to take a while.

"I vote we wait for the physiotherapist guy," Alex called from the ground. Kelly shook her head.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't schedule you in for another month. Thanks to the Venjix virus thing that guy's all booked up!"

"A month?" Hunter frowned. "You couldn't get him in anytime sooner?"

"Maybe, if dad here would let me flirt with the guy," Kelly said. She shot Alex a look, but the boy shook his head.

Hunter watched the duo, "What?"

"Never mind," Kelly shook her head. She approached Alex and took one of his arms gently, "Hunter take the other. Maybe he'll do better if he takes a few aided steps."

As Hunter and Kelly helped Alex practice walking by literally holding his hand every step of the way, Alex let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness all my friends are dead," he muttered. "I would be the laughing stock of the entire school if they saw me walking with you two."

"Shut up and walk," Hunter said, smacking the boy on the head. He looked over the boy at Kelly, "How about we scratch our deal and we see if the hospital will let this boy come with us for pizza? RJ's taking the others to what will be JKP."

Kelly nodded, "Sounds good. We were told he could be discharged today anyways. All he needs from the hospital is a few more appointments and sessions with the therapist."

-Fight-Flight-

"Here it is!" RJ smiled as he rushed to the door of his new restaurant, excited to show it off to his team-mates and soon-to-be employees. "The new location for Jungle Karma Pizza!"

Fran hopped out of the truck and took a good look around, "I don't know, RJ. It kinda blends in with the rest of the… uh, wall?"

RJ's arms dropped to his sides as he turned. She had a point. His new restaurant was just going to be another stop on a long commercial strip. Right next door to him was what would be a Laundromat, and on the other side was a fast-food joint that was already in business.

"At least we'll always have clean uniforms," Theo shrugged.

"Hey, I'll wear whatever as long as it's not zebra pants," Dominic commented. He looked at his best friend, "Seriously, RJ, can we talk about the uniforms? I can live with the shirt but…"

"Girls laugh when they see us in the zebra pants," Casey finished for his friend. "Have you ever wondered why all the girls laugh at you when you try to flirt?"

"RJ doesn't know how to flirt, that's the problem," Fran chuckled. She turned to the new JKP establishment and thought for a moment, "Although the pants really didn't help you much."

"A vote for no zebra print pants!" Dominic called before shooting his hand up in the air. Casey, Theo and Fran followed, much to RJ's dismay.

Lily remained silent. She hadn't said anything on the way over here and kept her distance. Though no one really noticed, it was easy to see something was bothering her.

Casey leaned over when he saw Lily hadn't voted, "Um, we kinda want to make this unanimous," he said. "So if you'll…"

"I don't care," Lily said. Truth was she did care. She actually liked the zebra print pants, for reasons even she couldn't explain. All she could really say was that they were unique and different, much like RJ, and they weren't boring or plain.

"Yes, you do," Dominic said for her as he grabbed her arm and held it up for her. He looked at his best friend, "Sorry, RJ, you're outnumbered."

RJ cocked his head to the side and a smirk appeared on his face; one that told Fran and the boys that he had his own little trick up his sleeve.

"My restaurant and therefore I get to choose the uniforms. Anyone who has a problem with that can look for somewhere else to work. I'm sure they'll hire you next door."

"The Landromat?" Casey frowned. RJ shook his head and pointed to the other neighbours.

"Greasy, smelly, and open 24/7."

Casey and the others exchanged looks, "So…"

"Zebra pants!" Dominic cheered before leading the charge into the soon-to-be-restaurant. RJ chuckled as he watched his friends change their opinions. He then turned to Lily.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. Lily snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her master. She nodded her head.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Fran said you didn't sleep well," RJ said. "I think she mentioned nightmares."

"I had a few," Lily nodded. There was no shame in admitting to nightmares, especially after the world had ended. It was perfectly normal to have trouble sleeping, "About the evacuations, mostly."

She wasn't lying there. She did have a few nightmares involving the evacuations. More than a few, actually. Most of her nightmares had been about the evacuation, instead of Hunter and her previous encounters with Thunder Ninjas. She had to relive it several times during the night. Needless to say, it didn't help calm her fears about Hunter. She couldn't understand why, but the more she let this thought about him being a Thunder ninja sit in her head, the more and more she saw him as a threat.

RJ didn't seem happy with her answer. He could tell something was bothering her. Really bothering her. Lily was normally a very happy young lady.

"Are you sure that's it?" he asked her. "If you need to talk…"

"Has Fran asked you about the Ninja Academies?"

RJ looked at the cheetah, "No, not yet… but I've heard Casey, Theo and Dom talking to her about it. They're not as subtle as they think."

"Th-they aren't?" Lily frowned. RJ shook his head.

"Are you kidding me? Dominic's a rhino and Theo doesn't really understand the meaning of the word 'whisper'."

Lily felt a lump rising in her throat. She knew Fran must have continued asking the boys about the ninja academies if RJ heard about it. She knew he hadn't been present when the topic first came up at the hospital. And if Hunter had spent the night, surely he would have overheard, according to RJ.

"So, the topic's come up?" Lily asked. "Lately? I mean, recently… I mean… today?"

RJ nodded his head, "Theo knocked the milk out of my hand and tried to talk to Fran about it. I didn't make much of it; I thought they were just trying to be secretive. I pretended I didn't hear them and…"

"But they were loud?"

"Theo was," RJ nodded.

Lily had to take a few calming breaths to keep RJ from noticing just how tense she was. If Hunter heard the others talking about the Pai Zhuq, wouldn't he had brought it up? He was a ninja, and the only way anyone could know about the Pai Zhuq was if they were students (or Fran's case, knew the Power Rangers). Unless he was hiding something, it would have been the perfect time to question their knowledge of the Pai Zhuq.

Suddenly, Lily felt two strong hands clamping down on her shoulders. She jumped in fright, let out a scream, and pulled away, running right into RJ. He wrapped his arms around her and chuckled before reaching out to shake Hunter's hand.

"Hey, I thought you were on Alex duty today," RJ smiled.

Hunter nodded his head, "I am. I'm just treating Alex and Kelly to your pizza. If you'll make it."

He looked at Lily, figuring he owed her an apology for scaring her, "Sorry about that, Lil."

Lily waved it off as if it was nothing, but RJ could feel her trembling furiously in his arms. Gently, he took her hand by the wrist, as if trying to comfort her. While he did that, he quickly checked her pulse, surprised to find it was racing.

Worried at this point for his cub, RJ looked down at her. He could see she was a little fidgety as she watched Hunter with a careful eye. Even when Kelly and Alex finally joined, Lily never took her eyes off Hunter. He also noticed she was pulling at her sleeve. The dome's temperature was rather warm today, and like himself, Lily had worn a short sleeve shirt, exposing her Master Tattoo.

Lily wouldn't have worn the shirt though if she knew Hunter would stop by with Alex. She assumed he would be gone all day. She started tugging at her shirt hopelessly, and tried hiding her forearm from Hunter.

The former Crimson Ranger looked down when he saw Lily was rubbing her arm quite a bit. That's when he noticed the tattoo. Completely clueless about the meaning, he smiled and pointed, "Hey, sweet tattoo!"

Lily's trembling worsened and she pulled away from RJ. She stumbled as she tried to get away from the small crowd, consisting solely of herself, RJ, Hunter, Kelly and Alex.

"I, uh… going!" she barely managed to form coherent words as she rushed off.

Hunter and the others watched her before he let out an annoyed groan, "Did I do something to freak you guys out?" he asked RJ. "You've all been acting a little wacky."

"There have been a few rumours," RJ shrugged.

"There always are," Kelly said, rolling her eyes, "Hunter's not known for being the friendliest of people."

RJ laughed at Hunter's expense along with Kelly and Alex as he glanced quickly down the street where Lily had run off. He felt like going after her, but a rumbling stomach distracted him. He turned to the culprit.

"Hungry, Alex?" he smirked. The teenager nodded.

"I've been walking all morning!"

"C'mon, it's not a restaurant yet, but I might be able to whip you up a nice pizza."

-Fight-Flight-

Just around the corner, Lily stopped running and pressed her back against the side of the building. She took some deep breaths, trying to calm down.

She couldn't explain it, but Hunter didn't make her feel safe. While he had been standing in front of her, all she could hear in her head was screaming and all she could feel was fear; a deep feeling of fear. She felt like she needed to run away and save herself. She felt like if she didn't get away, something bad was going to happen. Something she couldn't stop.

She felt uneasy and vulnerable around Hunter, like he was just waiting for her to be alone before he made his move. Lily wasn't sure what it was, but she knew one thing.

She didn't want to die.


	22. Warning Signs

Shane sat awkwardly at the breakfast table with the three Rangers-in-training staring at him. They were trying to hide this fact by looking away every time he turned to them, but Shane wasn't stupid. He could feel their stares burning into him.

He dropped his spoon into his bowl of cereal and finally looked at all three of them.

"What?"

"When did you show up?" Scott asked. He remembered Shane was a friend of Tori's, so asking why he was eating with them wouldn't have helped him at all. But Scott was almost positive they had no guests when he went to bed.

"Early this morning," Shane answered. He turned to Summer, not yet having been formally introduced. "You must be the season."

"Summer…" Summer frowned. She turned to Scott and Flynn with strange looks, but the boys shrugged.

Shane grabbed his bowl and took any empty plates that were on the breakfast table. He walked backwards to the sink, keeping his eye on the Rangers.

"Would you guys mind having a few houseguests today?" he asked the trio.

"We were going to start training today…" Scott began, but Shane shook his head, cutting him off.

"C'mon, the key to being the best you can be is to take a break every once in a while."

"I just started," Summer pointed out. "I can do with the training time."

"Alright, uh… wash these dishes," Shane held out the load of dishes in his hands. Summer's face wrinkled in disgust, but she got up and walked over to Shane. She took the dishes from the older man's arms and carried them the rest of the way to the sink.

Shane leaned against the counter, "I was just thinking of inviting everyone here," he told the trio. "Tori's been feeling alone lately and I think it's time we finally meet up."

"You mean all of you and your friends?" Scott asked. Shane nodded his head.

"Who else? Strangers?"

Summer turned around to face Shane and the boys, "How do you get the bubbles in the sink?"

Shane looked over and noticed Summer had filled the sink with water, but forgot to include the dish soap. He pointed to the dispenser beside the sink and gave her a weird stare. Summer turned to his, cocked her eyebrows, before figuring out how to include the soap.

"Aha!"

"What's with Season?" Shane whispered to the boys.

"Rich kid," Scott explained.

"She just got off the cruise ship," Flynn chuckled. "She probably never washed anything in her life."

"I'm standing right here," Summer called out without turning around.

"Sorry," Flynn said, but he couldn't hold back another laugh when the wet dish slipped out of Summer's grasp and hit the counter, thankfully without breaking.

Shane watched the scene for a moment before shaking his head, "I'm going to make a few long awaited phone calls. You boys uh… make sure she doesn't break anything."

-Fight-Flight-

Lily carefully snuck her way back into the loft, hoping no one would be awake yet and ask her where she had been. If she could make it to her bedroom and if she could get into her pyjamas, no one was going to noticed she had been out all night. She could lie and tell everyone she got home really early this morning, when everyone was in bed and asleep.

As she crossed the room she noticed a few bags were scattered by the couches. They were most likely Alex' and Kelly's bags from their stay at the hospital. Lily carefully pushed them out of her path with her foot as she continued her journey to her bedroom.

Suddenly, she heard movement coming from behind one of the doors. She turned slowly and saw the door belonged to RJ, Dom and now Hunter. Her mind began to race. What if Hunter was getting up?

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her breathing increase as she increased her pace, hoping to make it to her bedroom before Hunter came out. A sense of fear and vulnerability started coming over her and the screaming sounds in her head could be heard once more. Lily tried to block out the painful cries, but they got louder and louder with every passing second.

Before Lily could reach her bedroom the other door opened and Hunter stepped out. Still in a daze from waking up, he yawned loudly, scratched himself and started his own journey to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Right outside her bedroom door, Lily was frozen in terror. She didn't move and didn't make a sound as she looked over her shoulder and kept a careful eye on Hunter. He never noticed her, but Lily was certain that if she tried to move he would hear her and she would be caught.

She hated this position, with her back turned. She felt completely exposed and vulnerable to any attack from Hunter. If he spotted her, he could easily rush her and before she had the time to turn around, he could kill her. As her thoughts and feelings of helplessness escalated, Lily started to feel ill. Her vision started to blur and the door in front of her started dancing around. As Lily started to worry about that, her vision faded. For a quick second, all Lily saw was the domed City of Corinth in the distance. She heard the sounds of bombs and sirens wailing and she felt herself running. She didn't have to look back to know Hunter was running behind her, chasing her, with the intention of killing her before she could ever reach safety.

She felt a hand fall gently on her shoulder, snapping her out of her nightmare-ish flashback. Before anything else could happen Lily felt herself getting sick.

Hunter felt it as well, all over his chest and stomach, and then dripping and splashing onto his feet.

"Ew," was all he said, wiping away the vomit. He looked at Lily, slightly disgusted, but knew he needed to get her off her feet. He gently took her by the arms, with the intention of helping her walk to the couch, but something told Lily his had a different motive for grabbing her. She let out a loud, ear-piercing scream and started throwing punches. She hit Hunter, square in the chest, and sent him stumbling backwards into the girls' bedroom door. Before Hunter could catch his breath, and just as the others were running out from their bedrooms to see what was happening, Lily took off, running away from her friends and the loft, feeling like it wasn't a safe place to be.

Alex stumbled from his room with help from Casey and Theo, ready to ask about the high-pitched scream but was suddenly distracted by the smell. He looked over at Hunter and noticed he was covered in something unpleasant.

"Dude…" was all he said before he plugged his nose and looked away.

"Hunter, next time you want to, uh…" Kelly started as she looked down at the man sitting at hers and Fran's feet. "Just uh, don't do that in front of our door."

"You smell," Fran stated.

"This isn't mine," Hunter told his friends. He held his hand out, hoping someone would help him up, but no one was willing to touch him. Hunter grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet.

Kelly side-stepped him as the phone started to ring. She was closest; she was going to answer it.

"Who's is it, then," RJ asked Hunter as he pointed to the vomit. Hunter pulled off his shirt. It was going to need to be cleaned… or burned.

"Lily," he answered. "She was just standing here when I got up. When I walked up to her she threw up on me and then started beating me."

"Interesting technique," Casey chuckled. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Hunter frowned. "I didn't do anything! That kid just hates me."

"Hates you?" Alex asked. While Hunter did have his faults, he couldn't understand why someone like Lily would learn to hate him so quickly.

"Yeah," Hunter said. "This is the second time she freaks out when I show up!"

RJ nodded his head in agreement with Hunter. He had been there the first time.

"I know that," Alex said. "But, I don't think she hates you. Maybe you just… I don't know. Irk her."

"Irk?" Hunter frowned. Alex shrugged and nodded yes, unable to explain himself. Hunter rolled his eyes, "I irk her to the point of her wanted to vomit on me."

"Do you know where she went?" RJ asked the Ninja. Hunter shook his head.

"With any luck she'll be in a shower or something," he said. He sniffed himself, "Ugh, maybe I'll take the first shower of the day."

"Be my guest," Fran nodded, pointing to the bathroom. Hunter started making his way over until Kelly hung up the phone and stepped in his path. She held her hand up, almost pressing it into his chest, but she kept her distance.

"Guess who that was," she frowned, obviously angry. Hunter wasn't having a good day.

"Telemarketer?"

"Shane," Kelly answered for him. "Shane Clarke. Do you remember him?"

"Uh, yeah," Hunter nodded slowly.

"What about Blake Bradley? Your brother. Or Dustin Brooks? Cam Wata… Wata… Cam, I've only met him a couple of times."

"Yeah, Kel, of course I…" Hunter trailed off when he realised where this was going. "Oh."

"What about your ex-fiancée Tori Hanson? You definitely remember her, don't you? Because apparently you've gone to see her a few times!"

"Kelly…"

"Without telling me!" Kelly shouted and smacked Hunter on the head.

"Who are they?" Dominic asked, hoping this wasn't bad timing. Hunter tried to sneak away for his shower, but Kelly grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back.

"They are our friends," Kelly growled. "They are five people who I thought were _dead!_"

"About that, Kel…"

"Go shower," Kelly growled viciously as she let go of Hunter's shirt. "I can't murder a man covered in another woman's vomit."

Hunter ran to the bathroom, "I'm never coming out."

RJ chuckled at Hunter's expense while he made his way to the front door, "While you deal with Hunter and his secrets, I'm going to go make sure Lily's okay. Anyone want to come?"

"Are you kidding?" Casey frowned. "Deal with a sick Lily or watch Kelly humiliate Hunter?"

"I guess I'm going alone," RJ sighed. He wasn't about to let his cub run off on her own when there was something bothering her. Lily hadn't been herself for the past few days now and RJ wanted to get to the bottom of this.


	23. Them

Shane wanted the reunion to happen as quickly as possible. He thought that he would feel better and more assured about his new life if he had his friends back with him.

He called Cam, Dustin and Blake and invited them to the Garage, considering Dr. K rarely let Tori leave unless she was running errands. After getting the boys to come over, Shane found Hunter's number without asking Tori, and phoned him. He was rather surprised when Kelly picked up the phone. He had no idea Kelly had made it into the city as well. It lifted his spirits a little to know that there was one more person coming to this reunion.

Now he was working at getting the Garage ready for their arrival. He was working on his own while Tori trained her new Rangers. It was her way of dealing with everything happening around her. Shane hoped this surprise reunion was going to help her out as well.

The Skateboarder left the Garage door wide open so he wouldn't have to keep his eye out for his friends. If the door was closed, they were going to have to knock or ring the bell, and then Tori and Dr. K would realise there were visitors. Of course, the open door wouldn't go by unnoticed by the doctor, but Scott, Flynn and Summer helped him out with that. Before they left to train, they opened the door with their access card and told Dr. K they were going to leave it open to cool the Garage down for after training. The cold wasn't going to bother Dr. K, because the doctor was hiding somewhere else in the garage, and Shane didn't have a problem with it, so the Doctor allowed the open door.

"Knock, knock!" Shane heard Dustin call as the trio of boys joined their red Ranger. Dustin was bouncing over to Shane, really excited at the chance to finally get all the Ninjas back together.

Blake, on the other hand, was really nervous. He hadn't seen Tori since the break-up and he wasn't too sure how this reunion was going to go. He greeted Shane, but kept an eye out for Tori's arrival.

Cam had been worried for his female friend since he caught Shane leaving the house early in the morning. He was happy to get the chance to be there to help Tori and felt the same way as Shane did about the reunion. It was going to be nice to be back with his family.

There was a knock at the open door just as the four boys got settled on the couch. Shane looked up and waved Hunter and Kelly in. Blake, who had his back turned to the door, looked over his shoulder and jumped up at the sight of his brother. He hopped over the couch and nearly leaped into Hunter's arms.

Dustin was greeted warmly as well when he saw Kelly coming inside. Hunter had been very quiet about Kelly making it to the city, due to the tension between the two when he last saw Tori. He hadn't felt the need to share the information about Kelly because he truly felt, for a short time, that she wasn't worth it.

But Dustin was truly happy to see his former boss and even happier when Kelly moved out of the way, revealing Alex.

The reunion between Kelly, Alex and the ninjas was doing so well that no one noticed Alex had a prosthetic leg, even when Kelly and Hunter helped him walk to the couches.

"So, uh," Alex started. He didn't know too many faces in the room, but he felt really comfortable around them, especially considering how happy Hunter and Kelly finally were. He felt that if they were happy and safe, he could feel happy and safe. "Isn't Tori supposed to be here?"

"She's training," Shane told the young man. "The poor new Rangers are going through the mill because Tori's been feeling a little down."

"So she has her team picked out?" Hunter asked. "All of them?"

"Yep. Scott, Flynn and Summer. They're a nice group of kids."

"Two boys and one girl?" Cam asked. Shane chuckled and nodded.

"They're actually a lot like us," he said. "A little clueless about all of this, but they're really starting to bond. Flynn and Scott are pretty much best buds already."

"Sweet."

"Do you think they'll be able to stop the Venjix?" Kelly asked a little worried. It was a whole new experience knowing the Rangers and having a tie to them. It made them feel a lot more human, and humans weren't immortal. Kelly wasn't eased by the fact that it sounded like these Rangers were just kids.

"I think they'll be fine," Shane nodded. "And if they fail, they still have us, right? Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

Cam, Blake and Hunter all nodded in agreement with their friend. Dustin smiled, but it slipped from his face when a putrid smell caught his nose. He pulled away from Hunter, realising his crimson friend was the source.

"Dude, you reek!"

"I showered and everything!" Hunter shouted as he smelt himself. Kelly laughed at Hunter while shaking her head. Alex smirked and turned to the boys.

"Lily vomited all over him this morning," he said. "Best wake-up call ever!"

"Lily?" Cam asked.

"She's one of our roommates," Alex explained. "Lily, Casey, Theo, RJ, Dominic and Fran."

"Something's been bothering Lily though," Kelly pointed out as she looked at Alex and Hunter especially. "She's been on edge for a while."

"We don't really know her well enough to judge," Hunter said. "Maybe she just has episodes. Either that or she hates me."

"RJ seemed worried," Alex said. "Do you think he'll find her?"

Hunter shrugged. He turned to explain his situation with Lily to the boys when suddenly one of the doors in the Garage opened and Tori stepped out, along with the RPM Rangers. Everyone stood up with a smile.

"What?" Tori asked with a smile, delighted to see all her friends here, even if it caught her off guard. "What are you guys…?"

"Reunion time," Shane announced as he stood beside her and wrapped his arm around her. "We all really needed to meet up and be together. I thought it would help you and all of us, really."

"But, I've seen you guys," Tori frowned. She was actually thrilled that all her friends were together, but she had seen them all before. Shane shook his head.

"Look again," he smiled. Tori turned back to the couches and noticed Kelly and Alex were sitting there. Her jaw dropped.

"What?"

"Blame Hunter," Kelly said as she got up to hug her friend. "He didn't tell me about you guys either."

"Talk about surprise phone calls," Shane chuckled. Tori smiled before realising she hadn't yet properly introduced her Rangers to the team. Shane had met them, and Blake, Dustin and Cam knew Scott and Flynn, but she felt the need to make formal introductions.

"Uh, guys, these are the Rangers. Scott, Flynn, and Summer."

When Tori motioned to Summer Kelly, Alex, Hunter and Dustin all stared at the young girl, making her feel uncomfortable. Summer shifted from side to side as she watched them.

"Uh…"

"Dude…" Dustin breathed. "Dude, dude, you're Libby!"

"What?" Summer frowned, turning to Flynn and Scott for help. They shrugged their shoulders.

Kelly shook her head, "No… she's not but… she's…"

"You're the chick from the grocery store!" Dustin shouted suddenly, causing Summer to jump. "You're the chick with the wacky parents who were arguing with the cashier!"

"I think," Summer nodded. She had been to the grocery store lately with her parents, but she couldn't confirm if she was the person Dustin had seen or not.

"Wow," Dustin smiled.

Alex still hadn't said a word. His eyes were still fixed on Summer. She looked at him, a little uncertain what to make of his stares.

Finally, she motioned to her bedroom, "I think I'll let you guys catch up," she whispered. She grabbed Flynn and Scott's arm and began to tug them to her room with her.

"That's Summer Landsdown!" Alex finally whispered when Summer and the boys were gone. Tori looked at the young man.

"How did you...?"

"Her family's loaded!" Alex pointed out. "She went to the same grade school as Libby!"

"Before Libby transferred to public?" Hunter asked. Alex nodded his head.

"Yeah! The Landsdowns are snotty pieces of work! Money's all that matters to them!"

Alex turned to Tori with a worried look, "Are you sure you want her to be a Ranger?"

"She says she's trying to change," Tori frowned. "I guess now I know why."

-Fight-Flight-

Lily was almost certain someone was following her as she rushed through the streets of Corinth, trying to find a safe place to hide. She was starting to find it harder and harder to trust people as the screaming in her head grew louder and louder and was now accompanied by the sound of explosions, almost like bombs were dropping everywhere around her.

Lily darted around a street corner and stopped for a moment to catch her breath. As she did, a desperate hot-dog vendor approached her with a hot-dog in his hands.

"Only a buck!" he said to Lily, but the cheetah could only hear his screams. She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened her eyes and looked down, the hot-dog had been replaced with a handgun that was pointed right at her. Lily looked up him horror and found that the hot-dog vendor had also been replaced by a robot wearing a ninja costume. Lily screamed and pushed the hot-dog vendor out of the way before starting to run again.

Startled by Lily's reaction, the vendor dropped the hot-dog on the ground. As he picked it up, he felt someone grab his shoulder.

"I'll sell this to you for half price!" the desperate vendor said.

RJ shook his head, "I'm looking for a girl. Have you seen her? Dressed in yellow, a little jumpy…?"

"Hates hot-dogs?" the vendor frowned before pointing in the direction Lily had run. RJ thanked him and quickly paid for the hot-dog that the vendor had dropped. He couldn't help but feel bad for the poor man, especially if Lily was the reason he lost a precious dog.

He continued his hunt for the cheetah by following his nose and the screams. Had he not known any better, he would have sworn Lily was being attacked just a few blocks from where he was currently. But he had always known Lily to be a tough little thing.

Finally, RJ saw a group of people all crowded around one area, with screams and cries coming from the centre of the group. RJ pushed his way past the crowd of people until he found Lily, curled up in a ball on the ground. He knelt down beside her and touched her arm gently.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice. She turned to RJ, but her stare was distant, as if she was looking right past him.

"They're everywhere," she whispered, but RJ had the feeling she wasn't talking to him, but rather at him.

"Who is?" RJ asked as he looked around. He waved at the people, telling them to back away from Lily before they really scared her. "Give her some room to breathe, guys! Really!"

He turned back to his cub, "Lily, who is everywhere?"

"Look," Lily whispered and she pointed to a water fountain just a few feet away from where she was sitting. "They're hiding."

"Hiding?" RJ frowned.

"In disguise. All of them," Lily said. She pressed her finger to her lips, "Shh, they can't find out."

"They can't find out what?" RJ asked her before a woman in the crowd screamed.

"She's insane!"

"RJ," Lily called his name, giving RJ a little relief. At least she recognised him. She tugged on his shirt, "RJ. They can't find out we can fight back."

"Okay," RJ said before gently pulling Lily up to her feet. "How about we go home? You can get a little rest…"

"I can't go home," Lily shook her head and started backing away from RJ. "He's there! He's with them!"

"Who?" RJ asked before remembering Lily's freak outs around Hunter. He calmly shook his head and took Lily's hand, "Hunter? He's okay, Lily. He's our friend."

"He's lying," Lily whispered. "He knows, but he's not saying anything. He's working for them."

"For who?" by now RJ felt it was probably best to play along. Lily responded better to him when she thought he believed her.

"The thing trying to kill us all," Lily told him. "He's working with them and he's trying to hurt us. He wants to kill us."

"Okay," RJ nodded, "I believe you. It's not safe. But Hunter's not home right now."

"He can't come home," Lily stated firmly. "I'm scared."

"He won't come home," RJ said, just to keep her calm while he walked her back to the loft. "Nothing's going to hurt you."

"Hurt us," Lily said. "They're after all of us."

"Nothing's going to hurt us," RJ assured her.


	24. Help

By the time RJ made it home with Lily, she had finally fallen asleep. She had started dozing off in the bus ride home, which RJ was thankful for because Lily didn't seem like herself around other people. She was constantly watching them and RJ could practically sense her anxiety levels soaring through the roof. It was amazing she fell asleep when she was feeling the way she was, but he assumed her body just passed out.

He carried her inside, much to the surprise of the other Rangers and Fran. They all looked up as he walked through the door with the sleeping cheetah in his arms.

"You found her?" Theo asked as he turned off the TV. Fran and Dominic looked up from their puzzle and Casey put his little training session on hold. RJ nodded and walked to the couch to set Lily down. Theo scooted over to give her some room.

"No thanks to you guys," RJ said. "I had to chase her around the city!"

"She's a cheetah," Dominic laughed. "She's known for running fast."

"And you guys all owe me ten cents for a hot-dog," RJ frowned. "Lily went a little crazy on a desperate vendor. I guess it's his fault, really…"

"You expect us to pay you ten cents for your lunch?" Casey frowned. "Sorry, RJ, my pockets are empty."

"Did you figure out what made her sick?" Fran asked the wolf as she walked to the couch and looked down at Lily. She could tell that Lily wasn't getting a restful sleep, but at least she wasn't vomiting. It had taken Fran and Theo half an hour to clean up her mess. She didn't want to have to do it again.

"Depends on what kind of sick," RJ said. "When I caught up to her she said there were people or something hiding everywhere."

"Paranoid, much?" Dominic laughed. RJ shrugged his shoulders. He had to agree, but at the same time he had a feeling that this went much deeper than simple paranoia."

"She's probably just freaked out because of Hunter," Theo said. "She knows he's a Thunder, and we all know about the bad blood between the Pai Zhuq and the Thunder Ninja Academy."

"So are you saying we should ask Hunter about his Ninja history?" Fran asked excitedly. "Maybe we can clear the air with him and you guys can share stories and…"

"And Lily can see that Hunter's just a regular guy," Casey pointed out. He looked to Theo, "It's worth a shot, I guess."

"Maybe," Theo nodded.

Fran rolled her eyes. She was getting really tired of this. All these secrets were bound to spill. It would be easier if everyone just let the cat out of the bag, especially if this was causing Lily to have freak outs.

"I'm calling him," she said as she reached for the phone, "Does anyone have the number for the Garage?"

"It should still be in the phone," RJ nodded.

"But Hunter's at a reunion," Theo pointed out. "He's not going to leave, or spill the beans if there are other people listening! We're not going to get anything out of him."

"It's called lies and deception," Fran smirked. She pressed the phone to her ear and waited until someone picked up. "Hello, this is Fran, one of Hunter Bradley's friends. Can I speak to him please?"

As Fran was transferred to Hunter she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the group, "I don't know what kind of reunion he's at. I got some distorted, pissed-off voice answering the phone."

The others shrugged their shoulders and waited along with Fran. Theo continued to believe that this was a terrible idea. There was no way Hunter was going to spill his secret.

Fran smiled when Hunter's voice was on the other end, "Hey, Hunter. I just thought I'd update you about Lily. RJ found her lying somewhere in the streets and we took her to the hospital. Turns out, she has to stay there for a while. When he called us we all rushed out and forgot to grab Lily's things. Could you please run back to the loft and pick them up for us? Great! Thanks!"

The bookworm hung up the phone, "He'll be here in ten minutes."

"Remind me never to trust you again," Dominic teased his friend playfully. "That's mean. Hunter's probably going to be worried about her!"

"It's not like he's got nothing to worry about," Fran shrugged. "There is something wrong with her."

"Good point," Dom nodded. He turned to the rest of the group, "So, how do we get him to spill?"

There was a silence as everyone tried to think of an appropriate way to bring up Hunter's history. Suddenly, RJ remembered something important.

"She better wake up before he gets here," he stated nervously as he eyed Lily's sleeping figure. "I promised her Hunter wasn't going to come back here."

"So?" Theo asked.

"She'll freak out if she wakes up and he's here with us!" RJ said.

"We'll just tell her Hunter's a good guy," Casey suggested. He didn't see the problem. RJ knew that wasn't going to work. He knew, just by the way Lily acted in the streets, that she wasn't about to take anyone's word where her safety was concerned.

He didn't have to worry about her for long, though. Lily woke with a start, leaping out of her sleep at the very end of another nightmare. She breathed heavily, pressing her hand to her chest as she looked around.

"Hey sleepy head," Fran smiled soothingly. "How did you sleep?"

Lily careful examined every corner of the loft before turning to Fran, "Define sleep."

"Another nightmare?"

"Nothing but," Lily nodded. "I don't even remember when it started."

"You fell asleep on the bus," RJ told her. Lily gave him a look.

"The bus?"

"We took the bus to get home," RJ nodded. "Do you remember?"

Lily shook her head. She didn't remember taking the bus at all. In fact, she could hardly remember leaving the house.

Before anyone could explain, Hunter walked through the door whistling. Lily shut her eyes and shook in fear. Hunter's whistling reminded her of the whistling of the bombs as they fell around her during the evacuations.

Hunter was surprised to see everyone, including Lily, was home. He dropped his keys on the table by the door and gave them all suspicious looks.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We know you were at a reunion, Hunter but… sit down," Dominic motioned to the couch beside Lily. Hunter nodded carefully and went to take a seat. Lily shifted uncomfortably and felt her fear rising as Hunter moved in closer.

The jungles joined Hunter and Lily on the couches. The sooner everyone was settled, the sooner they could get this conversation started.

Casey began, "We know you're a ninja, Hunter."

Hunter laughed dismissively and shook his head, "A what? A ninja? C'mon, guys…"

"Lily and I saw your uniform," Fran tried to say in a way that didn't make it sound like she had been snooping. She placed her hand on Lily's shoulder, "We know it belongs to the Thunder Ninja Academy."

"What?" Hunter frowned.

"Don't tell him anymore," Lily whispered as she began to shake.

Hunter continued to shake his head, "Okay, I don't know if you guys have had anything to drink or smoke, but I have friends to see so if you don't mind…"

"We're from the Pai Zhuq," Theo called out, regretting it almost instantly, but he wanted to help his best friend feel better. He pulled up his shirt, revealing his Master Tattoo, "We're Pai Zhuq Masters. Lily recognised the Thunder Ninja Emblem. Apparently she's the only one who remembers the Foreign Academy classes."

"No I don't," Lily shook her head furiously. Fran squeezed her shoulder comfortingly and RJ smiled softly.

"It's okay, Lily."

"You're Pai Zhuq?" Hunter asked. He had heard about that Academy. He remembered Sensei Omino telling him and Blake about two students who behave inappropriately when they stumbled upon the Kung Fun grounds. Hunter let out a laugh, "Wow. That explains the tattoos!"

"You know the Master symbol?" RJ asked.

Hunter nodded his head, "I'm putting the pieces together now," he said. "I can be pretty thick sometimes."

"Sometimes?" RJ laughed. "You pointed out Lily's tattoo when you saw it and yet you never thought…"

"I had never seen a Master tattoo before," Hunter explained. "It's pretty sick. That's the Order of the Claw marking, isn't it?"

Lily nodded her head slowly. Casey turned to the cheetah and laughed.

"See, Lily, there's nothing to worry about. Hunter's cool about this whole thing."

"Totally," Hunter nodded. "Hey, guys, sorry about that little blow up a few years ago. You know, the thing that started the whole we hate each other deal. I don't know what those Thunders were thinking."

"You're taking this really well," Fran said with a smile before pointing a look at the Jungle Rangers. "Some of us thought this conversation would be harder."

"I'll be honest, I'm kinda freaked," Hunter admitted. "But… I mean, this is pretty cool. I've never met Pai Zhuq students before. I learned a little about your Academy from Sensei, and my parents used to tell Blake and I stories about the Beast War. Your history is so much cooler than ours! But that's pretty much all I know."

Hunter turned to Lily with a smile, "Hey, is this the reason you've been freaking out on me?" he asked her, "The whole feud between our schools?"

Lily nodded her head, "I… uh… think so."

Hunter shrugged, "Well, I don't know if this'll help or not, but I don't have any intention of reliving that moment. You guys are pretty cool. Except when you lie to me."

He turned to Fran as he said this. The bookworm chuckled nervously.

"Sorry about that."

"But we're cool? Everything's out in the open now?" RJ asked. He was hoping that if he could settle things with Hunter Lily would calm down. The Crimson Ranger nodded.

"Totally. If you guys want you can come by the Garage with me. Tori, Shane, Blake, Dustin and Cam are all Ninjas as well."

"Friendly ninjas," Casey whispered to Lily before turning to Hunter. He nodded.

"Definitely," he said before shaking RJ's hand. "We're cool. This is actually pretty neat. Who knew we had some kind of bond?"

Hunter led the pack of Pai Zhuq and Fran to the front door, intent on actually bringing them to the reunion with the ninjas. He thought it was pretty neat, and a little freaky, that they all knew each other, without really knowing there was a connection between them.

Lily stayed behind, though. She still felt very unsettled, and she couldn't understand why. RJ turned around before leaving.

"C'mon, Lily, you heard Hunter. Everything's cool."

"I… I know," Lily nodded. "I just… I don't feel like going."

"Are you okay?" RJ asked her. "You trust Hunter, right?"

"I think I do," Lily answered. "I just… maybe I'll catch up on some sleep. Now that we have this cleared up I might not get nightmares anymore."

"Are you sure?" RJ asked.

"I'm positive. Go, have fun."

"Okay…" RJ left hesitantly, almost afraid to leave Lily on her own.

The young cheetah watched as the door closed behind RJ. As soon as she heard it click she jumped up, raced to the door and locked it by both attaching the chain to the door and turning the lock. She then raced over to the windows and closed the curtains, blocking out the sunlight and keeping everyone and everything from looking inside. She turned on the lights and then proceeded to unplug everything. The TV, the telephone, and she even made an effort to unplug many of the kitchen appliances, both big and little.

She made her way back to the couch and curled up. Even with everything settled between her and Hunter, she still felt nervous, scared, anxious and paranoid. In her mind, she was still hearing people screaming and bombs dropping. She closed her eyes for a minute to try and focus. Maybe she could flush the sounds out of her head.

But closing her eyes was a bad idea because the moment she opened them Lily found herself back into the wastelands, with RJ, Hunter and everyone else running with her. She felt like she had traveled back in time and was out in the wastelands, running for dear life and hoping to get to Corinth city.

Lily screwed her eyes shut, praying she could be back home in the loft. But every time she opened her eyes she was back in the wastelands. She ran. She ran as far as she could, as quickly as she could. She jumped over rocks and dead bodies and avoided being hit by falling bombs. She kicked, punched and shoved her way through armies of robots until one finally got the upper hand and grabbed her. Lily screamed as she was thrown to the ground.

Suddenly, Lily opened her eyes again and she was right back in the loft, sitting on the couch almost completely immersed in darkness. She stumbled as she got to her feet and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed the clock from the wall and took a close look at it.

While it felt like hours since she first closed her eyes, Lily was surprised to see that it had only been five minutes. Lily set the clock back up on the wall before resting against it.

"I need help…"


	25. An Unprofessional Diagnosis

A cold sweat dripped from Lily's face as she sat up in bed and leaned forward, trying to process what was going through her head. She was still very unsettled and very paranoid, according to her friends. RJ had told everyone, Lily included considering she had no recollection of the event, about Lily's little bout of paranoia when he found her on the streets. She had claimed that there were things everywhere, watching her every move and working with Hunter and all the other ninjas in order to take her and the rest of the Pai Zhuq out.

But those fears had been calmed, or so Lily thought, when Hunter finally admitted to being a Ninja and assured Lily that he wasn't a threat. Lily took his word for it. After all, her friends believed him, and after hearing the words coming from Hunter's mouth, Lily realised that while Hunter had been mean towards Kelly, he had never done anything to hurt her physically. To top it all off, he had proven he was a good guy when he set his feelings aside to help Alex, proving to Lily that the Thunder Ninjas weren't enemies.

Lily still felt threatened, though. She was still on high alert. She hardly had an appetite anymore, she had trouble focusing and concentrating, and she had trouble sleeping. When her body did finally shut down, usually after hours of trying, Lily's mind was plague with nightmares and flashbacks. She was relieving her journey to Corinth, with very different outcomes, none of which were pleasant.

Fran and Kelly figured out about the nightmares rather quickly. It was easy for them to see because they shared a room with Lily. Many nights Lily would wake up screaming and Fran and Kelly would have to jump to her rescue (Fran didn't do as much jumping as Kelly, though. The older woman sometimes had to hop right out of her bed and jump on top of Lily to hold her down as she panicked). After a few nights of that happening, the girls talked with the boys, with Lily present, to try and figure out what was happening.

There wasn't much that came from that conversation, though. While Lily was relieved to find out that she wasn't the only one being haunted by nightmares of the journey to Corinth, she was still a bit unsettled because she was the only one suffering from the haunting.

RJ concluded that Lily, and everyone else, was still jumpy about the sudden attacks from the Venjix virus that had claimed the world. It was natural to be jumpy, on high alert, terrified and just plain freaked out after having spent days living through a war that ended the world, and running around, almost aimlessly, in hopes of maybe finding some shelter. RJ admitted to having moments of terror, or panic attacks. Hunter did as well. Alex was very open about anything in this new city that made him uncomfortable. So open, in fact, that he would reveal anytime his stomach felt uncomfortable due to gas. Good warning, but bad table manners. Casey admitted to having a slight fear of the microwave beeping, due to the microwave at JKP beeping only seconds before the first bomb hit Ocean Bluff. Theo admitted to being uncomfortable unless he knew where to find food or water, as a result of wandering through the wastelands for days, with only a limited supply of food and water. But aside from a few new and minor phobias, everyone seemed to be leading normal lives.

RJ was really busy with his renovations for the new JKP, and he was always asking for help from the boys and Fran. Even Alex was helping out where he could. The work was a nice distraction from his foot, and kept his busy during the day. Fran and Kelly were usually out searching for another store location. Fran had offered to help Kelly find somewhere she could set up Storm Chargers.

With the Ninjas, Hunter would spend a lot of time visiting Blake, Dustin, Shane and Cam. He rekindled his relationship with his brother, which had been tense due to them fighting for Tori. Some days, Hunter would visit with Tori, just to see how she was doing, like the rest of the boys would do. It was their way of staying in contact with the Ranger who couldn't leave the garage.

So, with everyone adjusting to their new routines, and actually enjoying it, Lily felt like there was something wrong with her. In her conversations with her friends, Lily admitted to having a few minor fears. She told everyone about her fear of whistling, which reminded her of the sounds of the bombs dropping. She told them about her fear of loud noises, which made her think of the explosions. As a result of her discussing her fears, Lily noticed that the house seemed a little quieter. No one whistled, at least, not in her presence, and nothing ever made any loud noises. The volume on the TV was always turned down; no one drummed on the tables when they were bored.

But Lily never told anyone about some of her other fears. Every time she saw the TV on, or the microwave plugged in, or anything technological, she could feel her heart racing, as if she was going to have a panic attacks once again. As a result, Lily always made sure that everything around her was unplugged, especially when she was alone and during the night.

When the cheetah finally calmed herself from her most recent nightmare she pushed off the blankets and crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Fran or Kelly. She opened the bedroom door, without making any noise, and closed it in the same way. She tiptoed her way across the main living area, hoping to reach the bathroom. Of course, Murphy's Law was always a bitch to those who were filled with anxiety. It seemed as though Lily found the only creaking floorboard in the entire loft. As she placed her foot on the slightly unsettled ground, a very minor creak echoed in the darkness. Normally Lily's reaction would have been to pause for a second and look around, just to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up, but tonight, like every other night – or day – since the Venjix, Lily was on high-alert. When the floorboard creaked, Lily jumped and let out a yelp. She quickly glanced around the room to make sure she was alone, before she darted to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She checked behind the shower curtains to make sure nothing was hiding behind them, and then sank down on the toilet, cradling her head in her hands. She stayed locked in there for the rest of the night, jumping at every sound she heard and waiting for the threat to pass.

-Fight-Flight-

Tori smiled as she looked at the results of her Ranger's training sessions as they were being printed out. It had been a while already since Summer joined the team, but Tori was noticing quick improvement from the girl, as well as from Scott and Flynn, in every area they were being tested. They had all proven themselves to be the best possible candidates for the Project Ranger team, and Tori was satisfied.

Her team, however, was far from happy.

"Look," Flynn said as he pointed to the clock lazily while resting on the couch, "It's six in the morning and I'm already tired."

"You're tired?" Summer groaned as she flopped onto the other couch, "I didn't fall asleep until that alarm went off."

"You guys are going to have to be more alert than that," Scott chuckled as he rubbed Flynn's cheek, where a pink mark was temporarily stained from when Flynn had been hit by Tori's paintball exploding. "Danger can happen at any time of the day. We have to be ready."

"Says the man whose alarm goes off at five in the morning on weekends," Summer frowned.

"I bet you've never woken up early," Flynn commented. He couldn't help but laugh at the house Princess. She was fun to tease.

Summer wasn't as amused, though. She grabbed her pillow right from under her head and threw it at Flynn just as Tori walked into the room with the results. The former Blue Ranger chuckled as she watched her successor get beaten by a single pillow. She jotted a few extra notes down.

"Upper body strength for Ranger Series Yellow: Improving."

Summer smiled and went back to her semi-sleeping state on the couch. Flynn rubbed his nose where the pillow hit.

"What's the point of having a training session in the middle of the morning?" he asked his trainer as he turned to her. "We're half asleep anyways."

"So was I half the time Lothor attacked," Tori shrugged. Flynn found it suspicious that she was wide awake at this hour. Almost as if she knew ahead of time that there would be a surprise training session and had planned ahead to get enough sleep. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, ready to sleep again. Before he drifted off, though, he muttered, "You're just rude."

"What?" Tori asked, turning to the blue Ranger, but Flynn was gone.

"I like his idea," Summer smirked. She rolled over on the couch and got comfortable, too lazy to gather her things and head up to bed.

Scott rolled his eyes. He was used to being up early in the morning. Therefore waking up at two thirty in the morning was less of an adjustment for him as it was for everybody else. The long training session and the sudden appearance of the paintball gun did make everything a little harder, but all in all he was proud of just how ready he felt to take on the Venjix.

Dr. K's computer screen started to light up, "Miss Hanson, are the Ranger results ready for me to examine."

"Do you not trust me yet, Doc?" Tori growled as she walked to the computer to transfer her information from her portable computer onto Dr. K's main systems. "You hired me to pick and train this team, and yet you're always breathing down my neck. Won't you believe me if I say they did well?"

"No," Dr. K stated flatly.

Tori growled under her breath as she transferred the files on the Rangers. Dr. K was really starting to piss her off.

"I think I'll get started on breakfast," Scott announced as he headed for the kitchenette. He was the only one not distracted by the doctor, or falling asleep in the middle of the morning. He figured he should put himself to use.

"Three waffles!" Flynn called out, suddenly awake again. Scott chuckled at the Blue Ranger's appetite. At least he was certain that food was never going to go to waste with Flynn in the room.

"You better help me out then," Scott told the Blue Ranger, "If you're eating half of what I'm making."

Flynn grumbled and groaned as he peeled himself off the couch to help his red Ranger. Summer woke up to the sound of the hungry and tired Blue Ranger. She pressed her face into the cushion, waiting for the noise to die, until she noticed Tori was all alone. Nervously, she walked up to her trainer.

"Tori, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. Tori looked up from her computer screen and nodded.

"Sure."

"Were you honest when you told Dr. K we all did well?" Summer asked. She lifted her sweater, revealing a beautiful assortment of colours that had been splashed on her during the training from Tori's paintball gun. Had the paintballs been real bullets or blasts, Summer was certain she was should have been dead. "I don't think I did as well as the others. Scott didn't get shot, and Flynn was only hit by the splash of the paintball when it hit the wall."

"You're doing fine, Summer, trust me," Tori assured her. "It takes a while to really get up to speed, but I'm sure once you're in real danger the adrenaline will kick in. And once we actually get you into the Ranger suits you'll feel a lot more confident."

"But I was shot," Summer frowned. "Twenty-seven times."

"And you'll continue to be shot," Tori nodded. "Those robots that Venjix created, Grinders, they're generally weak fighters, but at times they can have a very accurate shot. I can't even count the number of times a Kalzacks shot or slashed me with anything they could find. The Ranger suits protect you from that stuff, though."

"Are you sure?" Summer asked. "I just… I don't want to let anyone down."

Tori smiled, "Look, kid, you're here because you wanted to prove something to yourself. If I didn't think you had it in you to be a Ranger, I would let you know. And Dr. K doesn't hold back on the insults, so you would know if he wanted you gone. Just do your best, okay?"

Summer nodded and smiled back at her mentor, "Thanks."

-Fight-Flight-

"Wait, slow down," Shane frowned after listening to Hunter's story about finding Lily in the bathroom. "You mean she locked herself in the bathroom and hid in there, after having several severe freak-outs, and none of you guys are worried this is something serious?"

"We're all still trying to cope," Hunter shrugged. "We all just do it differently. Lily, Casey and Theo are all still kids, barely twenty-one yet. This has to be rough for them."

"Dude, it would be harder on Alex," Dustin pointed out, finding himself on Shane's side. "He's sixteen and he doesn't have all his limbs. Yet he's the one cracking jokes about the Venjix day in and out, and mending your grown-up relationship with Kelly?"

"Like I said, we all cope differently. Alex and the boys, we're boys. We like to view ourselves as tough and unaffected by this, you should know that, "Hunter said.

"We know that," Shane nodded. "We are guys, remember. But…"

"Girls are emotional."

"But Kelly, Tori and Fran aren't freaking out," Dustin pointed out. "And last I saw, that Summer chick wasn't freaking out. This is just Lily. Doesn't that worry you?"

"Why do I have to be the one that worries?" Hunter asked. "I barely know the kid! I met her once before the Venjix thing and… I mean, she seemed fine and very different from whom she is now, but how would I know if this is abnormal for her?"

"I would talk to that RJ guy if I were you," Cam said as he joined his friends, balancing five breakfast plates on his arms. Of course, when it was his day to make breakfast, Hunter had to come and visit early. Fortunately, Blake was out of this house this morning, running a few personal errands. So while Cam had to adjust the portion so there would be enough food to satisfy Hunter, he didn't have to make an extra plate.

"She'll be fine!" Hunter sighed, exasperated by the annoying worries of his friends. They hadn't even met Lily yet. They had just heard the stories.

"He seemed worried about her," Cam said. He had met RJ a week ago, when Hunter brought him and the other Pai Zhuq to meet the Ninjas. When Casey, the Tiger Spirit, mentioned there was still one more person, RJ quickly stepped in saying Lily wasn't feeling well. Cam had been quick to notice the look of worry on RJ's face. To the Green Ranger, the worry RJ seemed to be feeling traveled deeper than what Hunter was making everything out to be.

"RJ was their Master," Hunter said. "He calls Casey, Theo and Lily his cubs. He treats them like he would his own kids or a pack or something. He's probably just trying to take care of her."

"Okay, I get that, but," Cam sat down as he tried to figure out how to say this. He did have a suspicion about Lily, but because he hadn't ever met her, and because he had never seen her strange behaviour, he wasn't sure it was his place to worry, "what if there is something more?"

"Like what?" Hunter asked. "We're all fine. You, me, them! Lily's just taking a little more time getting used to…"

"You say she spaces out," Cam interrupted. He at least wanted Hunter to hear him out before shooting him down. "She zones off for minutes at a time and then seems really terrified when she's back. She had nightmares, and lots of them, and she told you and the others they were all focused on her being in the wastelands. You mentioned her having an episode on the streets where she thought there was something watching her, ready to kill her. She's jumpy, she avoids the TV, the phone, the microwave, she's…"

"She's basically on high-alert," Hunter nodded. "Pretty much twenty-four seven."

"She stays home all the time too, right?" Shane asked. "RJ asks people to help him renovate and Lily always refuses."

"I do too," Hunter said.

"But you have a reason. You come visit us or Tor. Lily just stays home," Shane said. "My sister went through something like that after she got into a car accident. She was perfectly fine after the accident for like… a day or something, and then she started getting nightmares. She avoided cars and couldn't even think about ever driving one again. For a few months she would walk to work because she was so afraid of getting into another accident. And whenever she was on the streets she would jump if a car drove by, never mind how she freaked when she was when she saw Porter and I were watching a sweet car chase scene on TV and she walked in."

"Shane, what does that…"

Shane held his finger up and counted as he listed off symptoms, "Re-experiencing the event, avoidance, and hyper arousal. Those are the three symptoms the doctor told my mother when he diagnosed my sister with post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Post-Traumatic Stress?" Hunter scoffed. He shook his head, "No…"

"She has nightmares, she's avoiding things, she's starting to pull away from people, and she puked all over your shirt when all you did was put your hand on her shoulder."

"She can't have post-traumatic stress disorder," Hunter frowned. "And anyways, you're not a professional. It's not like you're right because you know someone who had it. Maybe Lily's different."

"Fine," Shane shrugged, "But if her little panic attacks don't start fading away soon, I would look at seeing if there are any therapists that survived the evacuations."

"I think I agree with Shane, dude," Dustin nodded. "Even if he's not right about the stress thing, maybe she does need help. If she's the only one still freaking out, doesn't that mean something's wrong."

Hunter groaned, "I'll keep an eye on her."

"Get everyone to keep an eye on her," Cam said.

Hunter rolled his eyes. He was waiting for the day when everything in his world would be peaceful. That meant no more being in love with his ex-fiancée, no more trying to help his little-brother/son Alex with his prosthetic leg, and absolutely no dealing with severe disorders.

"Okay, we'll all keep an eye out on her," he said. "But if this stuff starts to go away by the end of the week, Shane owes me twenty bucks. Now, can someone tell me why my brother decided to leave when he knew I would be coming over?"


	26. Casey Sees The Light

"So, what are you really?" Alex asked as he turned to look up at Dustin, who had been given the job of _supervising_ Alex while Kelly was store shopping and Hunter searched for his brother. Dustin was the only person aside from Hunter and Kelly who Alex had a true friendship with before the Venjix and the only other person Alex really trusted to take care of him.

Dustin frowned at Alex' words, not sure he understood them completely.

"A human being…"

"No, I mean when Kelly left she said to supervise me, but she did this," Alex raised his hands and imitated Kelly's use of air quotes. "Does she mean you're babysitting me?"

"I guess."

"I am not a baby!" Alex shouted, crossing his arms over his chest as he began to pout. Dustin nodded his head and chuckled.

"Whatever you say," he smirked. "Keep yourself entertained for a little bit, dude. I'll online in the other room. Hopefully there's at least one decent bike that survived the Venjix."

"It's nap time!" Alex grinned. He fell back onto the couch and kicked his legs up so he could rest. Before getting settled, though, Alex literally kicked his leg off, letting the prosthetic limb fall to the ground beside the couch. Dustin turned at the sound of the falling appendage and frowned.

"Seriously?"

"What?" Alex asked as he reached for a blanket. "I'm a big boy, this is a small couch. I need leg room."

"Leg in its singular form being the key word here, I guess," Dustin shrugged. "Do whatever you want with your body dude; just don't get… amputee germs on my couch."

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter jumped from the wooden ledge that lined the beach and separated sand from concrete. He kicked off his shoes before making his way across the sand. While the season was supposed to be winter, the weather had been relatively warm. Hunter assumed the men and women controlling the weather were keeping it that way to help people adjust and feel comfortable. It would have really sucked if they were trapped in a freezing cold dome.

The Crimson Ninja left his shoes at the end of the beach as he walked barefoot. While romantically involved with Tori he had adopted her belief that it was a sin to walk on sand with shoes. Running shoes weren't proper beachwear, anyways, and the sand always got into sandals anyways. It was her way of cutting out the middle man. Hunter did have to admit, she knew a lot about the beach. The way the sand felt between his toes was always amazing.

But his feet's journey in the sand came to an end when Hunter plopped himself down next to his brother. Blake had been sitting by the water, just above where the water and sand met; staring out as far as the artificial horizon would let him see.

"I never pictured you as the romantic beach kinda guy," Hunter chuckled. "This is the last place I checked. I thought, if I were my bro, I would search for a moto track. Turns out, Corinth is kinda big on extreme sports. They have one track already, and they're setting up another!"

"Cool," Blake said, but his voice lacked enthusiasm. He picked up a rock from a collection he had made and tossed it into the water. Hunter looked at his baby brother.

"What's bothering you, bro," he asked. "It's just us here; you know we can talk about anything."

"Not anything," Blake shook his head as he tossed another rock. Hunter watched as this rock broke the surface of the water and sunk.

"Is it about her?" Hunter frowned. He was aware that the relationship between his brother and ex-fiancée was over. While he did feel slightly relieved, he was also hurting for his brother. He knew how much Blake liked Tori, and no matter how much Hunter tried to deny it, she had been Blake's first.

"Maybe…"

"Blake, c'mon," Hunter nudged his brother gently, "We're bros, dude. No one, not even Tori, is going to get between us."

"I guess."

"She's a bit of a bitch anyways," Hunter chuckled, though the words tore his heart in two. "She kind of played us both."

"She didn't know what she wanted," Blake stated in her defence. "I should have never left. Then none of us would be here."

"Hey, you weren't the one who ended the world," Hunter smirked, trying to keep the atmosphere light. "I was the one who suggested Kelly buy a full sized ladder and got Alex hooked on the idea."

Blake looked at his brother for a moment, completely lost on the relevance of Hunter's story. The older Bradley shook his head with a chuckle.

"Never mind, bro," he paused, letting the silence play out for a moment until he was sure of what he wanted to say, "Look, Blake… if you want Tori, go for it."

"But…"

"She was yours to start with anyways. She liked you before you betrayed her. She liked you after we betrayed her and she liked you even after you left. I was just… her confusion."

"Thanks, Hunter, now I feel much better about leaving her, and you!" Blake remarked sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it that way," Hunter sighed. "Look, bro, if this break-up is tearing you apart, than obviously you and Tori are meant to be together! She hasn't been doing so well either. I'm pretty sure she's been putting those Rangers through extra training sessions just to distract herself from reality. Nothing is more distracting than a Scottish man getting pelted with pink paintballs."

"Cam, Shane and Dustin told me to break up with Tori," Blake said to his brother. "Tori's like their little sister. They don't want to see her hurt and they thought me being with her was hurting her and everybody!"

"Who cares what those guys think," Hunter frowned. "Dustin believes in Martians! I've seen my fair share of aliens, but I've never seen a Martian! The guys aren't always right!"

"But this time, I think they are," Blake breathed. He rested his chin on his knees. "It was all too fast. Maybe Kelly was right all along, about everything."

"Maybe," Hunter nodded, looking out at the horizon. "She's pretty good at social stuff like this and… she tells you things that you need to hear, even if you don't want to..."

Blake eyed his brother suspiciously as Hunter ranted on.

"She's always looking out for the people she cares about, and you know, she understands when you're just yelling at her because you don't want to admit she's right. I've verbally abused her more times than I can probably count, and she's still… sweet… to me."

Hunter turned to his brother, "Do you know what I'm saying?"

"I know what you're not saying," Blake smirked. "So, this thing with Kelly… does that mean you've moved on from Tori?"

"Not officially," Hunter said with Blake's words not yet fully registering in his head, "But I think I'll move on. All I really wanted to say was that I don't mind if you and my ex get together. She was yours first, bro and I'm sorry I…"

His words trailed off as he gave Blake a sour look, "What thing with Kelly?"

"No, no, you were just about to apologize about…"

"What thing with Kelly?" Hunter asked again, leaning in closer to his brother in an intimidating fashion.

"I don't know," Blake smirked playfully, "The compliments, the way you just went on, the way you said she's 'sweet' to you in a totally disgusting and lovesick way."

"I do not like Kelly! We have a mutual agreement to cooperate in assisting Alex as he finishes his teenage years and learned to become independent with his disability."

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that," Blake asked, tugging on his ear slightly, "I couldn't hear your denial over the sound of the truth trying to escape."

Hunter smacked his brother on the head, "I DO NOT LIKE KELLY!"

"I don't know," Blake chuckled, shaking his head, "Even your denial sounded a lot like you wanting to have a family with Kelly."

"And Alex!"

"AHA!" Blake smirked until a quick look from Hunter caused his smile to disappear. The younger man jumped to his feet and started to run as his brother chased after him with near-murderous intent.

-Fight-Flight-

Casey could hear it. The deep breathing; the wheezing; he could practically hear Lily's muscles trembling as she sat on the couch beside him, trying so hard not to fall asleep.

Hunter had phoned the new JKP while visiting his ninja friends and Casey had been the poor sole who picked up the phone. Hunter proceeded to tell Casey of Cam, Shane and Dustin's suspicions, and when Casey shared those suspicions with the rest of his friends, he had been volunteered to head home and monitor the cheetah. RJ wanted to do it, but he couldn't leave JKP at all. So, he played the best card in his hand and reminded Casey that as team leader (a position Casey wanted so desperately), it was his responsibility to make sure that all of his teammates were okay at all times.

Casey cared about Lily, he really did. He would do anything for her, just like anybody else would. But he didn't like staying at home with a cheetah who would barely talk and who would jump at just about any sound. It was difficult to live with, especially when there was no real reason why Lily should be so jumpy and scared. Casey has his set of phobias and paranoia thanks to the Venjix, but he knew he was safe inside this dome. He knew that Lily understood she was safe as well.

Post-traumatic stress was probably just an excuse. Casey just couldn't imagine that anyone who fought danger on a regular basis for nearly a year would suffer from post-traumatic stress after any incident that was life threatening. By now, Lily should have been desensitised.

But, he knew her panic was real. When he got home, he found Lily pacing around the couches. She practically jumped out of her skin when Casey opened the door and walked in. She had been muttering something about seeking help for her problem, but not knowing what it was. When Casey asked her about her mumbled utterances, though, Lily was startled and refused to share her ideas with him, almost as if she didn't trust him to help her.

Casey let it slide though and went to the new computer that had been delivered and decided to look up post-traumatic stress. He wasn't surprised when he found pages and pages of information. The government was probably updating everything and filtering out any websites and programs with the Venjix virus, or any kind of virus. One of the first things that made sense to filter was anxiety disorders and any kind of disorder that could develop or surface from the Venjix attacks.

He read about panic attacks. While he researched, he realised that Lily was in fact suffering from panic attacks. When he looked up treatment, he saw that medication was suggested, but Casey had never been a huge believer in modern medicine. There was a time and place, but with Casey's belief, and a limited number of doctors (and a large demand), Casey was looking for a more immediate fix.

So, he had kept the search going until he read that the best thing to do when suffering from a panic attack was to work through it. If Lily ran away, even to calm herself down, she would only be making her attacks worse. Her panic attacks triggered her fight or flight response in her body due to fear. When she ran, she was answering her body's need to flee, thus reinforcing the idea that running decreased the tension and saved her from her anxiety.

That was why, when Casey heard Lily's breathing become heavier, noticed her trembling and the sweat, and realised she was having another panic attack, he let her be. If she made any kind of move that indicated she was going to run off, he would stop her and help her to calm herself down, but he wanted her to do this on her own.

"Casey…" terror was laced in her voice as she called his name. Casey put down the book he had been reading and focused on her.

"You're okay."

"No…" Lily shook her head.

"Yes you are," Casey nodded. "You're with me, in the loft."

Again, Lily shook her head. Casey frowned. This therapy stuff was harder than he thought. No wonder it required a degree.

"Lils, just relax. "I'm not going to let anything…"

"CASEY!" Lily screamed and the tear suddenly began streaming down her face. Casey jumped at her outburst and watched her for a minute. He noticed she seemed distant, almost as if she was here, but not at the same time, like she was somewhere else entirely.

"Lily, I'm right here," Casey called to her softly. He really hoped Lily couldn't see his hand shaking furiously as he reached out to touch her. "You're okay. You're safe!"

Lily shuddered away from his touch and let out a small yelp. She closed her eyes and then suddenly everything was calm. Lily opened her eyes again, gave Casey one look, and then curled back up on the couch, ready to return to her normal hyper vigilant state.

Casey frowned, "Lils, are you…"

Lily anticipated his question and shook her head, "I don't think I'm like everyone else."

Casey nodded. He had never seen something so terrifying in his life. Lily's little episode had gone from zero to sixty, and then back to zero again in mere minutes.

"I don't think so either," he admitted not only to her, but to himself as well. He had been very passive about Lily's condition, for reasons even he couldn't explain. It was probably due to never having seen any signs for himself. It wasn't real until just now, when everything exploded in his face.

Lily began to shake again and Casey heard some light sobbing. He moved in closer to her on the couch and wrapped her in his arms.

"You're okay, though," he assured her, realising that telling her she was different could actually make matters worse. "You're not crazy or anything. You're just… sick…"

He rocked her gently as he looked at the phone over by the kitchen. It was too far to reach and letting go of Lily, even for a second, was unimaginable. He was going to have to sit here, with her, to keep her calm until she felt better and until the others got home. For her sake, and for his, he didn't want her to have another episode.

"I saw it," Lily whispered, her words barely audible to Casey because they were muffled by his shirt. Lily had practically buried herself in his arms.

But Casey could make it out. He leaned into her and whispered, "Saw what?"

"He was coming after us," Lily said.

"Who?"

"I don't know," Lily told him, shaking her head, "I don't know… he doesn't have a body. He has an army. He wants to kill us all."

"Wanting something to happen doesn't make it real," Casey whispered softly into her ear. "He, whoever he is, is not going to win…"

Casey paused for a moment as he thought. He wasn't sure if this would help Lily, but it was worth a shot. After all, it didn't seem like Lily's condition could get much worse. She was already hurting herself.

"The others are out. They aren't due home for hours," he told her. "I meet the new Ranger team and their trainer… would you feel safer if you met them too?"

Lily shook her head, "I don't want to meet them. I want help."

"We'll try to make you feel safe, first," Casey assured her. "If that doesn't work and you're still like this, maybe we can get a real diagnosis."

"Casey…"

"Until then, me, RJ and everyone else, we're going to take care of you, okay?" Casey whispered to her. "We'll get you whatever help you need. You can trust us."


	27. The Roses

Alex woke with a start and held his hands in his head. It took him a minute to calm himself down from his dream. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he joked to himself that Lily's crazy behaviour was contagious.

He looked around the room and realised that he was trapped on the couch. While he had gotten used to walking, he still needed quite a bit of support. Balance was another issue entirely with him. He peeled himself from the couch and hopped over to coffee table, where Dustin had placed his leg. He snapped it back on, grabbed his crutches, and started walking to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. As he did, he sighed deeply.

"Lib…"

-Fight-Flight-

After catching up to Blake and forcing him to eat sand, Hunter was headed home. He was now troubled by two thoughts: his feelings for Kelly, which he didn't have, and a little guilt for leaving Lily alone. He had done what he could by calling her friends, but now that he was alone and had nothing else to do, Hunter thought that maybe he could play the nice guy role and visit her, just to make sure she was okay.

He had left Blake at the beach so that his little brother could figure out where he wanted his relationship with Tori to go. Hunter only hoped that Blake would make the right decision, especially now that he knew that Hunter was supporting that decision, no matter what. But Blake still had to figure out if getting back to Tori really was what he wanted.

But right now, Hunter just wanted to get home and figure himself out, and his life. All he had to do was turn the corner, and his loft would be right there, but before that could happen, a man grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Flowers for the special lady?" he asked Hunter. The Crimson Ranger frowned and looked down at the bouquet of roses in the florist's hands. He shook his head.

"I uh, don't have a special lady," he said.

"I know," the florist sighed, letting his head fall. "No one does, this Valentine's day. Women everywhere died in the evacuations."

"Not all women," Hunter said, just to give the florist hope. After all, Corinth couldn't have been too male dominated. The florist looked up with despair.

"Doesn't matter," he breathed. "You lose one, you lose them all."

"Don't I know it," Hunter muttered. The florist smiled before forcing the bouquet into Hunter's hands.

"Half price!" he smiled. "Everyone's lost someone special. Some people are all alone. Why don't you go give someone this bouquet? Kindness is a circle."

Hunter rolled his eyes before reaching into his pocket. He was really starting to hate the pushy salespeople of Corinth. They were so desperate to get their business started.

He pulled out his wallet and handed the man his ID. The florist grinned happily as he scanned the ID. He handed the card back to Hunter.

"Make sure those go to someone who is really hurting," he said. Hunter nodded as he returned to his walk home.

"Great, who do I give these too?" he frowned. "The only girl I know who's really hurting is Lily… and I can't give these to Tori…"

Hunter walked into the loft and tossed his keys into the bowl. He placed the flowers down on the kitchen table as he walked towards the couches. Lily was home, so he wasn't allowed to whistle. Hunter was only now starting to realise just how often he whistled.

He placed the roses on the coffee table and reached for the remote, assuming he could watch TV if Lily was in her room and the volume was kept on low. As he was about to take a seat on the couch, he felt someone kick him in the butt.

"Watch it! She's asleep!"

Hunter turned around and spotted Lily wrapped in Casey's arms, sleeping soundly and… it actually looked like she was sleeping and not just passed out in another nightmare.

"She's worn herself out," Casey whispered. "She fell asleep five minutes ago and I don't want to wake her up."

Hunter chuckled, "So you've just been sitting there?"

"She's not heavy," Casey nodded, "But right now she's dead weight. I couldn't reach anything or get up! I have to pee so badly!"

"I can take her to her room," Hunter offered as he picked Lily up, freeing Casey from the clutches of the young girl and the couch. Casey jumped up and rushed to the bathroom, but before he closed the door he turned to Hunter.

"Who are the roses for?"

Hunter looked at the roses on the coffee table and shrugged, "You can have them. Give them to Lily or something."

Casey chuckled and shook her head, "Lily doesn't like roses. Never has. She always says that roses and lilies are enemies."

"So she _was_ a lunatic before all this started," Hunter smiled and took Lily to her room as Casey disappeared into the bathroom. When Hunter got back from the girls' bedroom, he let himself fall to the couch as he stared at the roses, "Stupid vendor. Now who am I going to give these too?"

"Give what to who?" Hunter heard Kelly's voice from the doorway. He turned around and sighed when he saw her taking off her jacket. He shot her a look.

"Blake set this up, didn't he?"

"What?" Kelly frowned before remembering Hunter had been visiting the guys. She must have wound up as the butt of some kind of joke between Blake and Hunter.

Hunter rolled his eyes as he got up from the couch. He grabbed the roses and walked over to Kelly.

"Now don't go jumping to any conclusions or anything," Hunter started as he shoved the roses into Kelly's arms. "Some stupid vendor convinced me to buy these roses and give them to someone. I don't want to seem like a creep, and roses and lilies are at war or something. I don't know Fran well-enough to pull this off so here you go."

"How romantic," Kelly chuckled as she sniffed the roses.

"There's nothing roman…"

"I know, Hunter," Kelly interrupted him. "I remember our agreement. I was being sarcastic. But thank you… I think."

"It doesn't mean anything," Hunter pressed the matter, causing Kelly to shoot him a sideways glance. She understood that much. She was getting used to the idea that there was never going to be anything special between her and Hunter. He didn't need to convince her of that. But still, Hunter went on, "I didn't even really want to buy them, but the poor bastard wasn't going to leave me so… I thought Lily might like them… you know, cheer her up a little…"

"About Lily," Kelly started, jumping off the topic of the roses before Hunter dug himself a hole, "Have you seen her?"

"I just put her to bed," Hunter stated, pointing to her bedroom. "Casey said she had a few panic attacks and such."

"Does anyone know what's wrong?" Kelly asked as she grabbed a cup big enough to use as a vase and filled it with water. She hadn't been informed about the possibility of post-traumatic stress. Hunter nodded his head, though Kelly could tell he seemed slightly unsure.

"I saw the guys this morning and told her about the bathroom episode," he said. "Shane and Cam are positive it's post-traumatic stress."

"Probably," Kelly nodded. She placed the cup on the table and the proceeded to unwrap the flowers.

"Probably?" Hunter asked. "This doesn't surprise you or…"

"I'm a little surprised," Kelly answered him, "But with the way she's been acting, and how clueless all of us have been, I'm just happy someone's figured it out."

"They aren't professionals," Hunter reminded her. "What do they know?"

"Shane's sister…"

"I know the story," Hunter interrupted her. "But Shane's sister and Lily are two different people! And Shane's never even met Lily."

"But I've met both of them," Kelly smiled. "Shane's sister stopped by Storm Chargers once after her accident and I asked her how she was doing."

"But you've never seen her freak out."

"Hunter," Kelly called to him. Hunter turned to her and noticed she had a pair of scissors in her hands. Normally that wouldn't trouble him, but it sounded like Kelly was getting slightly frustrated with his dismissal of Shane and Cam's theory.

"I'm all ears," he told her, holding his hands up. Kelly frowned at him before she too realised she had scissors in her hands. She finished unwrapping the bouquet and placed them in the cup of water before looking back at Hunter again.

"Do you know how comforting it might be for Lily to know that she's not actually a lunatic?" Kelly started. "So what if this isn't post-traumatic stress? Until we can see if this panic thing is chronic, and until she can be professionally diagnosed, let her think this is something that can be treated. It might help."

"Huh?"

"Would you rather be an incurable lunatic, or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, which does have a rather successful recovery rate?"

"Neither?"

"Which one?"

Hunter frowned, "The second one, I guess…"

"So let it be," Kelly told him, patting him on the shoulder, "Now, I've got a few phone calls to make before Lily wakes up."

"I'll plug in the phone," Hunter chuckled. He walked to the phone and quickly plugged it into the wall, cursing Lily's phobia of plugged in technology. It made everything a lot harder than it needed to be. When the phone was plugged in, Hunter grabbed it from the end table and handed it to Kelly. She smiled as she took it.

"Thank you, Hunter," she said to him sweetly, causing Hunter to smile back. She looked up at him, "For the flowers to. It may not be romantic, but… it's still nice."

"I'll go pick up Alex from Dustin's place," Hunter whispered to her, suddenly feeling a need to get away before the strange feelings that were now bubbling inside him surfaced. Hopefully if he ran fast enough, he could leave the feelings behind.

Casey had been watching the scene from the doorway to the bathroom. His face wrinkled in disgust as he turned back into the bathroom to take a shower.

"Alex was right. That is sickening."


	28. True Love

Flynn opened the door to the Garage, took one look at the person standing on the other side, and then slammed the door shut.

"Ow…"

"I'm tired of all this training," Flynn grumbled, walking away from the door, though leaving it unlocked. Blake, Tori's ex-boyfriend, was the man on the other side, currently rubbing his nose. Flynn knew what was going to happen. It happened every time. One of Tori's friends was going to come, something would happen, and then he would be woken up in the middle of the night for a long training session.

As Flynn made his way to the couches, Blake opened the door letting himself in. Scott and Summer looked up from the pool table. They were both happy to see him, and very angry at his presence, for the same reason as Flynn.

Blake noticed their accusing looks and chuckled, "Don't worry; I have good intentions, this time."

"You better," Summer frowned. "I heard what Tori did to these guys after you broke up with her. I would like to keep that story just a story."

"That explains the door slamming in my face," Blake said. He looked around the Garage, "Um, is Tori home?"

"She always is," Scott nodded. He pointed to Tori's bedroom, "She's in there."

"Please interrupt her," Flynn added. "I think she's got the plans for our next torture training."

Blake smiled and laughed before rushing to Tori's bedroom. After his talk with Hunter, he needed to talk to Tori. He knocked on her door three times, touched the doorknob, and then waited for an answer.

"Come in!" he heard Tori call. His heart raced as he turned the doorknob and walked into her room.

He was surprised to see that there was very little in her room. A bed, a dresser for her clothes, a desk and a chair. There were no pictures, no windows, and no decorations. The only object that gave this place any feeling of security was the fact that Tori's comforter was blue. The rest of the room seemed rather bleak.

"I don't know how you live in here…"

Tori looked up at the sound of his face. The pencil dropped from her hands.

"Blake?"

"One and only," Blake nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. This was suddenly very awkward for him. He noticed Tori glancing over his shoulder quickly, as if expecting the guys to be right behind him. He couldn't blame her. After breaking this off with her, he understood that it was probably weird to think of him coming here alone. He shook his head, confirming her thoughts, "It's just me."

"Um, okay…" Tori pushed her work to the side. While this was very weird for her, she was committing all her attention to him. The last thing she wanted was to lose his friendship as well. While it was a little rocky and uncertain now, Tori really did want to remain friends.

"About before…"

"Before?" Tori frowned.

"The whole break up thing," Blake said. "I know I never told you this… but I always hoped it was temporary."

"What?" Tori frowned. Now she was really confused. There was no such thing as a temporary break-up, especially if this man was a true man. Tori believed that when in a relationship, you either push through, or end it. There was no _maybe_.

Blake didn't want to out the guys, afraid that Tori might turn on them, and him, if he told her their role in this. While he knew they were right, Tori may not see it that way.

He worked his way around that fact, "It occurred to me that our relationship was affecting everyone… in a bad way?"

Tori gave him a look that told him she really didn't understand any of this.

"Hunter still likes you," Blake told her. "And… I mean, I don't blame him. You're fucking hot!"

Tori blushed.

Blake continued, "And it's because of that that everyone… we were slowly falling apart! I mean, Shane and Dustin had some tension in their bromance because of us."

Tori chuckled. Shane and Dustin did have a bromance going on.

Blake smiled. It was nice to see her happy.

"Look, Tori. I love you. I always have loved you. But I knew that if I wanted to preserve our relationship, save our friendship with the guys and Kelly, and be happy, we needed to be sure this thing was real. I would sacrifice the world for the woman I love. Now that I know it's you… I think I'm ready."

"Um…" Tori blushed again and looked down at her wooden desk, trying to process all of this. Was Blake Bradley, the man who broke her heart, really in her bedroom asking for a second chance?

"Tori… how can I explain this?" Blake said when he saw Tori wasn't jumping into his arms and telling him he loved her. He wanted her to understand. "I… my friends… our friends, mean the world to me. I would never do anything to risk their friendship. And my brother's the only family I have. If couldn't live with myself if I threw that all away for some fling. We jumped into things too fast and too soon to really know if it was real. Breaking up with you and figuring things out was the only way I could make sure that I was ready to put Shane, Dustin and Cam's friendship on the line. I now know that I would rather lose them than you."

"Bros before hoes, right?"

Blake nodded, "Not a term I would ever use for you, but yeah, basically."

"So what makes this different?" Tori asked him. "Why are you now willing to put your friendships on the line for me?"

"Because, you're not a _ho_. You're the woman I love. The woman I would die for. As it stands, now and forever, I would rather lose Shane, Dustin and Cam. But I can't live without you, Tori."

Blake walked over to her desk so he was standing beside her. He got down on his knees (both knees. He wasn't ready to be engaged just yet), and took her hands.

"I love you, Tori. I really do. I regret breaking your heart, but I don't regret breaking up with you because it's shown me that you're the only one that I want. And, if you'll let me, I'm willing to prove to you that I can be the one to make you happy. I'll make you fall in love with me over and over. If I can make you feel the feelings that I feel whenever I see you, even if you only experience them once, then all of this will be worth it."

"I…"

"Please, Tori…" Blake was practically begging at this point. He was going to respect her choice, but he was really hoping it was a yes.

"I'm going to have to cancel the Ranger's training tonight," Tori smiled before throwing herself into Blake's arms and wrapping hers around his neck. "I can't say no to that!"

Both Tori and Blake heard the Rangers cheering, on the other side of the door. They chuckled as they looked into each other's eyes.

"They think you made the right choice," Blake smirked before leaning in to kiss his again-girlfriend.

"They may agree," Dr. K's voice said over the computer and intercom system, "But I cannot allow you to cancel any pre-planned training sessions, Miss Hanson."

"Bite me. Blake and I have a date tonight."

"I, in no way, give you permission to leave this Garage for personal matters such as dates."

Blake frowned, but Tori smirked and gave him a look that told her she had it covered. She looked at the one, small screen in her room.

"Alright, but that just means we'll have our date in here… where you, the man who is so afraid of any kind of interaction, will be able to see everything."

"Miss…"

"_Everything_," Tori repeated, really emphasizing her point. There was a brief silence, which Tori learned was usually when Dr. K either muted his microphone to yell, curse or sigh. But the doctor came back with a bargain.

"Your curfew is nine. No later or you know the consequences."

"Consequences?" Blake frowned, but Tori didn't lose focus.

"Ten," she knew she was dreaming, but she hoped she could get a later time.

"Nine-Fifteen," the doctor said.

"Nine-forty-five."

"Nine-sixteen."

Ouch. Tori didn't see that coming. But she never backed down from a challenge.

"Nine-forty-four."

"Nine-seventeen."

Tori crossed her arms, "Okay, doc. You and I are both smart enough to know that this is going to continue until we reach a mutual time. Nine-thirty. We were headed there anyway."

"Nine-thirty with conditions."

"I'll use protection," Tori chuckled, just to freak the doctor out, but now Blake was hoping.

"I'll pretend like I never heard that," Dr. K said. "You'll return fully clothed, in your own clothes, and groomed. And you'll still run the Rangers through their nightly tests."

Tori turned to Blake. This was the best deal she was going to get.

"I accept," the surfer quickly glanced at the door and called to her Rangers, "sorry guys. I tried to cancel training."

Blake couldn't help but chuckle when he heard disappointed groans on the other side of the door. He turned to Tori.

"They must hate you."

"They can run away if they do."

-Fight-Flight-

At first, the flowers were nice. Sweet, even. Hunter could have given the flowers to any girl, but he still chose her.

But now, Kelly was really starting to believe the flowers were tempting her. She stared at them as she sat at the table, playing cards with Lily, who couldn't sleep.

"I said, your turn," Lily repeated as she waved her hands in front of Kelly's face. The older woman turned to the cheetah and frowned.

"I don't know how you live with it."

"Live with what?" Lily asked.

"The feeling like there's something out to get you. Something just waiting for the right moment to jump out and… knock you off your feet."

Lily pulled into herself, "Don't remind me… please."

"Sorry," Kelly breathed as she smiled softly to her friend. Lily took a few breathes and glanced at the bedrooms doors, where the boys and Fran were all sleeping soundly. By now it was one in the morning, and the only reason she was awake with Kelly was because she had another nightmare and needed a distraction. She longed for Casey or RJ to come sit with her, but Kelly was doing an okay job at keeping her calm.

Except for the fact that Kelly's gaze continued to wander to the flowers now resting on the counter behind Lily. When the cheetah felt safe again, she looked over her shoulder.

"That was nice of him," she commented.

Kelly shook her head, "I'm almost convinced those flowers are laughing at me."

"Don't even joke…" Lily muttered, closing her eyes. Kelly quickly turned to look at her.

"No… not like that. It's not a joke, Lil, I swear, it's just…"

Lily took another deep breath, "You like him, don't you."

"Yes," Kelly admitted rather quickly. Lily was a little startled at the honesty, but she went with it.

"Um… so, why do the flowers laugh at you?"

"Because he doesn't like me."

"But he gave you flowers… roses! I'm not a fan, but roses are romantic!"

"Yeah, he bought them off some desperate florist to shut him up, offered to give them to you from Casey, but you have this weird lilies and rose thing going on, and he and Fran don't know each other that well so now I'm stuck with them."

"And he's the only one of us who even came close to marriage," Lily chuckled softly.

"I mean… it's the least romantic gesture anyone can do. And usually anything involving roses is romantic, no matter what! But…"

Kelly bit her knuckles as she contained her frustration. Lily looked at her with soft eyes, ready to listen. She found it was actually nice to focus on someone else's problems, instead of her own.

"I thought I was starting to move on," Kelly admitted. "Scratch that, I had moved on… sorta. But now… he was just… so cute and babbly and… I hate men."

Lily laughed, "You're kinda funny."

"Shut up, blondie."

"He can't not like you," Lily shrugged. "You two are practically raising a kid together."

"Divorced people do it all the time."

"Yeah, but divorced people don't live together. And I'm pretty sure the ex-husband isn't buying his ex-wife flowers, especially with Valentine's Day only a little over a week away."

"It didn't mean anything… right?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders again, but Kelly didn't miss the smile that appeared on her lips for a brief moment. "I don't know. I'm the crazy one, remember? My word about what's real isn't the best. But… I wouldn't call it quits yet."

"But we're professional. We promised there would never be anything between us."

Lily yawned. She propped her arm up on the table and rested her head against it. Kelly could tell her eyes were beginning to close.

"People lie. It's human nature."

"Go to bed, Chilman," Kelly said. She grabbed the cards from the table and from Lily's hands and started to put them away. By the time she looked up, Lily had fallen asleep right at the dinner table.

"She'll fall asleep anywhere as long as she's not alone," Kelly heard RJ laughing. She turned to the wolf Master who was standing outside his bedroom door.

"How long have you been there?" she felt like her privacy had been invaded. While she had been rather open with Lily, it was just girl talk. No boys allowed.

"I just came out," RJ whispered. He carefully shut the door so as not to wake the men inside. "I thought I heard someone and figured it was Lily. I wanted to check up on her."

"Nightmares," Kelly said, updating RJ. She held up the cards to show him she had things with Lily under control. "A pretty nasty one, too. I figured this would take her mind off things."

She turned to the sleeping cheetah, "We started talking though and the topic was me. I kinda feel offended."

"Go to bed," RJ laughed. "I'll take the next shift."

"You have the days. Let Fran take the next one."

"I'm awake anyways," RJ told Kelly. "It'll be fine. Go to bed."

Kelly rolled her eyes and placed the cards in RJ's hands as she headed to her room. But RJ called her name, stopping her before she disappeared behind the door. Kelly spun around and noticed RJ was looking at the flowers.

"There was always the garbage."

Kelly's jaw dropped, "I thought you just came out."

"I did," RJ smirked, "But I'm not deaf."

"Stupid kung fu people…" Kelly muttered as she quickly stormed into her room.


	29. Dreams and Balloons

Alex stepped in, ready for another day at work, a little surprised Kelly had managed to find an renovate a shop so quickly and offer him his job back. The young man walked proudly to the counter, waving hello to Dustin, who was standing at the service desk looking at forms.

He pushed the door to the backroom open and pulled out his employee card from his pocket. He smiled as he walked past Hunter and Kelly, who were working together on fixing up a dirt bike, something he rarely ever saw them doing, especially lately. He greeted them with a cheery good morning as he swiped his card through the punch clock, marking the start of his shift.

He whistled contently, already knowing where to go. There was a spring in his step as he marched over to the customer service counter. He punched his numbers into the till and then froze. He looked down, surprised to find his leg as good as new.

"Hey," he grinned, kicking his foot against the base of the counter, "The doctor was right. You do get used to these pretty quickly. It almost feels real."

"I hope so, dude," Dustin called to him from the service counter, "You don't want to walk around with a fake leg, do you."

Alex shook his head. What did Dustin know?

He grabbed a pen from one of the drawers and started tapping it as he waited for customers to need his help. He rocked back and forth, from heel to toe, and his eyes darted around the room. He was readying himself for the long morning wait, when there was little to do. He loved this time, though, as it gave him the chance to talk and bond with his other employees.

Alex was pulled from his blissful thoughts when the bell over the door rang, signalling someone was coming into the store. He turned with a welcoming grin on his face, but the moment he caught her shinning blue eyes, noticed her petite stature, and saw her blonde hair gleaming in the light, the smile fell from his face and a look of utter confusion took its place.

"Libby…?"

The girl in question rushed to the service counter and leaned over it, looking past Kelly, "I know I'm early, but both my parents are out of the house again and I'm so bored! Can I please start early?"

Alex heard Kelly chuckle, "I'll say the same thing as always. Go punch in."

"You're amazing Kel!"

As Libby walked by Alex, she offered him a loving smile, "Hey, bug. On time today?"

"Li- Li- Libby."

"Oh boy," Dustin smirked. He hopped over the service counter, now finished with the paper work. "I think Alex is broken again, guys!"

"Hold on," Hunter said as he rose from his spot on the ground, between Kelly and the dirt bike. He walked to the front of the store and stood behind Alex. Next thing the young man knew, Hunter had reached into the back of his pants, grabbed his underwear, and pulled them up.

High.

"AH!" Alex called, jumping away from Hunter. The older man released his grip and laughed as Alex tried to fix himself. "Not funny!" he shouted to Hunter.

"Works every time."

"Hurts every time," Alex rubbed his butt but stopped the moment Libby stepped back out into the front of the store. His eyes followed her as she walked to the surfboards. It was always the first place she went when she started. She wanted to make sure they were all perfectly aligned and straight.

"Perfect!" she chirped as she adjusted one board back to its proper position. Alex nodded his head.

"Yeah…"

"Go ask her," he heard Hunter whisper in his ear, but when he turned around, the older man was gone. Alex looked around the store, surprised to see Dustin, Hunter and Kelly were all off in their own little world as they sat around the dirt bike.

Alex gulped loudly as he took a step forward. The store was dead, he was allowed a few minutes away from his till.

As he approached her, though, he could hear a faint whistling sound. Not the same kind of whistling Hunter did whenever he walked into work on a beautiful day. It was a whistle that sent shivers down Alex's spine.

The ground also began to shake, and the closer Alex got to Libby, the more it shook. The whistling was getting louder as well. Suddenly, through the large glass window, Alex could see a crowd of people running through the streets, screaming in terror. Lights began to flash and building were starting to crumble.

"But… we're safe…" Alex muttered. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. But when he opened his eyes again, everything was just as he left it. People screaming, ground shaking, the whistling, and Libby standing there, completely oblivious and completely unaware of what was about to happen to her.

Alex shook his head, "Not again," he whispered before taking off in a sprit towards Libby. "Not again!" he shouted as he jumped for her, shielding her with his own body as the bomb hit the store. He screamed.

-Fight-Flight-

Alex woke up to someone calling his name and shaking him. He jumped into a seat position on his bed and looked around. He was okay. He was back in his room, in the loft, with his fake leg resting on the side of the bed, completely detached from the rest of his body. He placed his hand over his chest and breathed, "What the…"

"Lily did a runner."

That was Kelly's voice. Alex looked up, finally realised that he had been pulled from his sleep by Kelly. He rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on what was real, instead of the dream.

"What?"

Alex heard movement from the other bed in his room and noticed Casey and Theo were getting up.

"Someone in here screamed," Kelly explained to the three boys. She turned to Casey and Theo, "It scared Lily. She took off. Was it you?"

"Lily's gone?" Casey asked, suddenly pulled from his groggy state. Kelly nodded and watched as Casey ran from the bedroom.

"RJ chased after her," Kelly told Theo before turning to Alex, "The rest of us are just heading out to search for her. Do you mind staying home in case she comes back?"

Alex nodded his head, "Um, okay…"

Kelly walked with Theo to the door, but turned around to look at Alex again. His movements were slow and it seemed like he was anywhere but planet Earth at the moment. She looked at Theo once more, very quickly, and then Alex.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she asked before Hunter appeared behind her. He took her by the arm.

"C'mon, Kel."

"You screamed," Kelly asked Alex.

The young boy nodded his head, "I guess. I screamed in my dream so…"

"We'll help you later," Hunter said to Alex before pulling on Kelly's arm, "He'll be fine. Lily's the problem right now."

Kelly grumbled as she was pulled away, "How is it we outnumber her eight to one and she still gets away like this?"

"We suck?" Hunter shrugged.

-Fight-Flight-

Tori chuckled. Sometimes the doctor had truly brilliant ideas.

Water balloon. Amazing!

Scott and Flynn laughed as they ran around the base, hiding behind everything they could. This was, by far, the best training session they ever had. Dr. K told them he wanted to test their hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and their aiming skills on moving targets, but to the boys, this was an amazing game.

Summer wasn't having as much fun as the boys, for a good reason. They had teamed up against her and were pelting her constantly with a seemingly never ending supply of water balloons. To make matters worse, Summer was running low on ammo; she was constantly surrounded, and had chosen the wrong day to wear a faded yellow, nearly white shirt.

But when she ran over to Tori to gather as many balloons as she could, Tori also held out a baby blue t-shirt. The yellow Ranger accepted it gratefully and slipped in on over her wet shirt.

"I would have warned you if I knew beforehand," Tori assured the blonde before a water balloon exploded just over both their heads. Tori stopped the water from falling on her and Summer and turned to Scott and Flynn, who were hiding behind the plastic covered couch. "What did I saw about hitting me?"

"Not to?" Scott and Flynn answered, sounding like young children who were being scolded by their mother. Tori nodded her head and pointed to the time out box. Her invention. She loved water, but preferred to stay dry. She was meeting Blake this afternoon and didn't want to spend hours doing her hair again.

"Both of you," she instructed the boys. Flynn and Scott put their water balloons down and walked to the time out box for the third time this morning. She hated sitting there. It was the only time Summer could hit them with balloons. The rules in the time out box: no water balloons allowed inside, and you're still a legal target for outside balloons to hit you.

But Summer wasn't ready to go seek her revenge. She let her yellow balloons drop to the ground.

"Can I surrender?" she asked Tori.

"I wouldn't," Tori shook her head. "Dr. K's got a nasty surprise for anyone who surrenders. I'm pretty sure it hurts."

"I just feel like everyone's out to get me."

"Newsflash," Tori smirked, "They are all out to get you. Scott, Flynn, the Venjix… and Dr. K. Who doesn't want to throw water balloons at the spoilt brat? After all, it was people like you who made life hell for people like us."

Tori pointed to herself and the boys. Summer looked away, ashamed. She wanted to be different, but it was hard to adjust. She hadn't lived the same life as everyone else. She felt like an outsider and, at some times, she felt completely alienated.

Tori looked at the young girl and placed her hand on her shoulder, "Look, kid. We all have ghosts, and we all have things we're ashamed of. Scott's not perfect. Flynn's not perfect. You're not perfect. But we're all here to change that. We're all here because we know we're meant to be more than what we are right now. Scott's not just some Colonel's son. Flynn's not just… Scottish. And you're not just a Landsdown. You're Summer. And only Summer can tell you who you're supposed to be."

The surfer offered her young friend a smile before reached for the box that had been at her feet. She opened the lid, revealing hundreds of baby blue water balloons.

"Now, if you promise to never give up, on anything or anyone, including yourself, I'll help you get these boys back."

Summer smiled, "Aren't we supposed to do this on our own?"

"Is the new Summer too good to ask for help?" Tori asked, holding up a water balloon. Summer shook her head.

"The new Summer is asking for help," she said. "She knows she needs it."

"Good," Tori grinned. She turned to the boys, "This will be fun."

"Oh shit…" Scott whispered to Flynn as Tori and Summer started making their way over.

"C'mon! We can take them!" Flynn encouraged. Scott shook his head.

"Tori was the Blue Ranger on her team," Scott said.

"So?"

"The Blue Ninja Ranger was a Water Ninja."

"Fuck…"


	30. Fresh Start

Lily wasn't too sure where she had run off to, but she knew she was feeling safe. There was no one around her and, aside from a few empty warehouses, there was nothing around her.

This normally wasn't a place anyone would feel safe. Lily could see the limits of the city, and she could easily walk and touch the walls of the dome. While she was close to the exit, the thought never crossed her mind that something might come in.

So she did approach the dome walls and she pressed her back against it. She sunk to the ground, curled up in a ball and waited to feel safe.

-Fight-Flight-

Flynn looked into the grocery cart as he and Summer walked around the grocery store. It was their duty to bring food back to the garage. Tori wasn't allowed to leave without permission from the doctor, and Dr. K didn't see why Tori would need to do the groceries when there was a team of Rangers ready to help.

Scott had been invited to tag along, but the Red Ranger wanted to use his day off to do some exploring. While he had been in the Garage for a while, he never had the opportunity to really look around. He thought it would be a cool activity to do while Tori invited her friends over and Dr. K, for once, wouldn't be supervising.

Flynn watched as Summer explored the grocery store, looking at all the different selections of food she could purchase. He hadn't been surprised when she told him she had never been in a grocery store before. A spoiled little rich girl like her didn't belong there. Flynn was almost certain he was going to be the one picking out the food, pushing the cart, and doing everything.

But Summer had jumped on board the moment she walked into the store. She was grabbing what was needed, a few treats for herself and the boys, and had pretty much taken charge. Flynn was surprised by the time they made it to the checkout counter and all he did was push the shopping cart.

When the cashier finished scanning their groceries, Flynn held out the Project Ranger ID card so she could debit the cost. Summer loaded the bags back into the cart and the two were headed out the door.

"You're a natural," the blue Ranger told his friend. Summer turned to him with a confused look.

"I'm a what?"

"A natural, at this," he pointed to the cart. Summer shrugged her shoulders.

"I saw what Andrews used to bring home when he went out," she said. "I used to sit and watch as he put everything away. I remember whining when he asked me to help him."

"I can picture that," Flynn chuckled. "Spoiled little princess doesn't understand that you actually have to work…"

"Shut up," Summer growled as they approached Flynn's truck, which had been given to him from Colonel Truman and the military as a thank you for his service as a power Ranger. Summer grabbed the grocery bags from the cart, opened the bag, and started throwing them into the truck.

"Hey, hey," Flynn called, stealing the next load of bags from her hands. "Gentle, princess."

"Stop it," Summer barked. She grabbed the last load, placed them in the truck and slammed it shut. Flynn jumped at her aggression, a little put off. She had been fine a few seconds ago.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked her, but Summer ignored him as she walked to the passenger side on the car, which, on this vehicle, was the left. Flynn rolled his eyes, pinning her problems on "that time of month", as he walked to his side of the truck.

Just as he was about to hop in, the two heard a strange buzzing sound coming from their jacket pockets. Both exchanged looks before reaching in and pulling out what Dr. K and Tori had called, their morphers.

"Um, hello?" Flynn spoke into the morpher.

"_Dr. K just told me she's getting a strange reading from the warehouse district, just by Corinth's perimeter. It might not be anything, but I think everyone would feel safer if you two checked it out."_

"On it," Summer nodded. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins as Flynn started the car and they took off down the street. Flynn must have been feeling it too. He was so focused on the road and getting to the location as quickly as possible. He didn't make one mistake, he didn't flinch and he wasn't jumpy.

They were both ready.

When the car stopped at the warehouse district both Rangers hopped out of the car and clung onto their morphers. They had no idea how to morpher, or how to even really use the morphers. Talking to Tori had just been a fluke. But they both felt better keeping it close.

"So, what are we looking for, princess?" Flynn asked Summer, who was one step behind him. As he turned around to face her, Summer continued to walk, purposely bumping into him as she passed him

"Something out of the ordinary," Summer answered him. She kicked a can that had been discarded carelessly on the ground. Just then, they both heard a yelp, and Flynn saw something moving in the distance.

"Over there!" he shouted, racing over to follow the movement. Summer was right behind him, running as quickly as she could to keep up.

Flynn saw the person, or at least, he hoped it was a person, running into one of the big buildings. He looked back and nodded at Summer, making sure she was still going to follow him. He pushed through the doors and stopped in the entranceway.

"Which way?" he asked as Summer approached him from behind. He looked down the two corridors.

"I guess there's only one thing we can do," Summer said. "You go left, I'll go right."

"Split up?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"What if you run into a dust bunny?"

"I swear to god, Flynn…" Summer bit her lip, clenched her fists and glared at the boy. He was really pissing her off.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Flynn said, but he wasn't sure why he was apologizing. It was just friendly teasing. After all, Summer called him and Scott the _Scotts_. "Me left, you right."

"Right," Summer nodded before taking off. Flynn rolled his eyes and headed for the left hallway. He stepped lightly, hoping to pick up on any sounds his prey would be making. He listened carefully until he heard the sound of someone breathing. Hopefully it was breathing, because that meant that whatever they were following was alive at least, and not some Venjix robot.

He reached into his pocket and grabbed his morpher. He glanced at it, trying to figure out how to reach Summer to let her know he was on the right path. He heard footsteps as he looked at the buttons on his morpher, but he had stopped walking.

Suddenly, he heard the footsteps rushing towards him.

"Bring out the Cheetah!" he heard someone – a woman – shout. Flynn looked up just in time to see a giant, yellow, glowing cheetah running towards him. He screamed as he turned around and started running.

Cheetahs were known for their speed, though, and Flynn had no way to get away. The hallway was long and straight, making him cat food. As he glanced over his shoulder to see just how close the cheetah was, he lost his balance and stumbled forward. He covered his head with his hands. Now all he could do was wait.

Suddenly, he heard something that sounded like a wolf howling. He looked up curiously and saw a purple wolf jumping right over his head and hitting the cheetah, knocking it back and away from Flynn. The wolf growled and the cheetah took off back from wherever it came from.

Flynn pushed himself up in a sitting position and watched as the cheetah and the wolf slowly faded. He heard footsteps running from behind him and turned around.

"RJ?" he asked, recognising the man he had met not too long ago. RJ raced past him, completely ignoring him. Flynn got to his feet and chased after the man.

"Wait!" he called, "What are you doing here? Where are you going? Wait up!"

He ran until he could see the end of the hall and RJ kneeling over. He could hear the older man was talking to someone. Sobs echoed in the hallway.

Flynn stepped forward carefully, "RJ?"

"Shh!" RJ hushed him aggressively. He turned back, facing the person he was talking to. Flynn took a few steps forward and finally spotted a young woman. The girl looked up at him before letting out a terrified yelp and jumping into RJ's arms. He held her closely and helped her to her feet.

"You're okay," RJ whispered to her. "You're safe now."

RJ finally turned to Flynn and smiled softly, "Sorry about that. She startles easily."

Summer arrived finally, racing down the hallway at full speed. But she slowed to a stop when she saw Flynn and a man whose name she couldn't quite remember.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at Flynn. "It sounded like a zoo, in here."

"Our doing, sorry," RJ said. "You're, uh, that season kid."

"Summer," Summer told him.

RJ chuckled and then turned to Flynn, "And you're the blue Ranger."

"Flynn, yeah," he nodded.

"I'm RJ," the older man thought it best to reintroduce himself, as well as introduce Lily. It might help her calm down if she learned that Flynn and Summer were friends. She was clinging onto him pretty tight, sweating profusely, and shaking furiously, among many other of her usual panic symptoms. He gently pushed her forward, "This is Lily."

"Yeah," Flynn nodded. "I met her animal spirit… that's what it's called, right?"

RJ smiled, "Yeah. That's it. Sorry about that. Animal spirits can be pretty protective when their masters are scared.

He hugged his cheetah close and looked at her, "How about we go home? That scream you heard was just Alex. Kelly called me and told me herself. He just had a bad dream, like you."

"Have you figured out what's bothering her?" Summer asked politely. RJ nodded, but he wasn't all that sure.

"We think its PTSD. She feels safest at home, so we're trying to keep her there until she can learn to settle down and trust us to venture outside."

"Well, she's out now," Flynn smirked. "You didn't happen to notice anything suspicious lurking around here, did you?"

Lily shook her head, "Just me… I think."

"She speaks," RJ chuckled. He gently pat her arm, "Ready to go?"

Lily nodded and pulled in closer to RJ. She trusted him already. She knew he would keep her safe.

As she walked by Flynn, though, she couldn't help but feel guilty for almost attacking him. She whispered a very silent apology, afraid to speak too loudly. But Flynn only needed to see her smile to know what she was trying to say. He nodded his head and watched her leave.

When she and RJ were out of the building he turned to Summer, "She's nice. Hunter made her sound like a total lunatic."

"Shut up."

Flynn frowned at her, "If summer's this cold, I would hate to see winter. I thought princesses were supposed to have manners."

"Shut. Up."

"Okay, okay," Flynn held his hands up, "Calm down, lass. I'm just having a laugh."

"Well it's not funny, okay," Summer said. She shoved her morpher in her pocket and fixed up her jacket before turning towards the exit. Flynn felt as if he had hit a sensitive spot for her. He chased after her and grabbed her arm.

"I'm really sorry," he told her sincerely but Summer brushed him off. Flynn was starting to feel really bad. He hadn't meant most of what he was saying. He was honestly just trying to have a laugh. Summer and Scott teased him about his accent, and Scott was mocked constantly because of his hair. He couldn't understand why Summer was so different.

Then again, Tori wasn't very open to teasing, but given her current position as RPM mentor and prisoner, Flynn couldn't blame her.

The two walked to Flynn's blue hummer and strapped themselves in for the car ride home, but before Flynn turned on the engine, he looked at Summer again.

"Really, Summer. You know I'm not trying to be mean or anything."

"I know."

"So then why...?"

"Don't ask me about it."

"Do you have someone else to talk to?"

"No."

"My door's always open," Flynn shrugged. "I promise I won't tell anyone. And I'll back off on the jokes."

Summer stared out the front window for a moment, contemplating whether or not she really wanted to talk to Flynn.

"You can't ever mention this again," she breathed. "Not to me or anyone else. I don't even want you talking to yourself about it."

"Okay."

"And I'm not even going to tell you anything," Summer told him. "Just want you need to hear."

"Okay," Flynn nodded. Summer finally turned to face him.

"I hate myself."

Flynn frowned as he let the words sink in. He couldn't believe it. Apparently, neither could Summer. She leaned back in her seat a started to stare off into space. Flynn felt the need to ask.

"Why?"

"Who I am hates who I've been," Summer muttered to Flynn. "I know who I was, how I acted and how it hurt other people. I was a terrible person."

"That doesn't mean you can't change," Flynn said. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "I used to be the school loser. I tried to stand up to bullies, you know, do the right thing, and then the person I was trying to defend would pick on me. I got a lunch dumped on me by someone I had a crush on!"

Summer began to laugh, but caught herself before she went too far. She looked at Flynn.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Flynn smiled. "You're about nineteen, right?"

Summer nodded, "My birthday was the day Venjix hit my city," she told him. "My… uh… friends, were all with me for a party."

"My dad used to tell me life doesn't start until you're twenty-five, and even then, there's always a fresh start waiting for you. How about, we forget you were a princess and we start new?"

"I think I'd like that."

Flynn offered her a smile as he started the car. He looked out the windshield, tapped the steering wheel and checked his mirrors. Suddenly, he jumped.

"Whoa! Who's that pretty lass in my car?"

Summer frowned, "What are you…?"

"RPM jacket," Flynn pointed to her jacket, "You must be the new Ranger. I'm Flynn McAllistair, also known as Ranger Blue."

Summer decided to play along, "Summer. Ranger Yellow."

"Seeing as you're already in my car, would you like a lift back to the garage?"

Summer rolled her eyes and punched the scot in the arm. Flynn frowned, rubbing his sore spot.

"Ow! No wonder Dr. K and Tori chose you. That hurt."

"Flynn!"

"Fresh start," Flynn winked. Summer rolled her eyes again but decided just to go with it. Flynn took his eyes off the road for a quick moment. "So, Summer, what made you want to be a Ranger?"

"I want to help people."

"You and I," Flynn smiled, "We're going to be great friends."


	31. The Safe Room

Scott was starting to notice a change in the garage. The mood was a little lighter, people were happier, and there were less training sessions. In fact, the only time Scott, Flynn and Summer were training was when Dr. K forced Tori to run them through some simulators. None were ever as fun as the water balloon training, but they were never as intense as they had been before.

Blake, Hunter, Dustin, Cam and Shane were also hanging out around the Garage more often, keeping Tori rather distracted. Like at this very moment.

Dr. K was also busy most days. The doctor kept an eye on the garage and the city, but hardly ever came onto the computer screen or was heard on the intercom. It was almost like the doc wasn't around.

So, with Tori and the Ninjas occupying the couches, Dr. K distracted, and Summer kicking Flynn's butt at pool, Scott figured he would take another look around the garage. There had been one door he hadn't gotten the chance to explore, and he knew he wanted to find out what was on the other side.

He swiped his card and the door opened, almost as if inviting him inside. Scott stepped over the threshold and looked around.

The room appeared to be some kind of laboratory. But not like a messy scientist lab. More like a workplace, to test equipment and to come up with ideas. It was clean and organized so neatly that everything had its place. The only time Scott had seen a place this well-kept was when his father was in the room. Colonel Truman didn't like when things weren't in their proper place, a result of his time in the military. Scott and his late older brother Marcus had never enjoyed the luxury of a messy bedroom, even during their lazy teenage years. Of course, having both entered the military as soon as they were eligible; Scott and Marcus were much like their father in that respect. Scott still was, but he liked to consider himself a little more relaxed. It didn't bother him if other people's rooms, such as Flynn's or Summer's, were a disaster.

He touched the beakers, toyed with the little gadgets and gizmos, and tried searching for the power button in the computer. He found a button and figured it was worth a shot. He pressed it carefully and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the wall behind him opened up, and a large display case rolled out. Inside were five power Ranger uniforms. Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Black.

"Whoa," Scott breathed as he turned around and spotted the Ranger uniforms. "That's pretty sweet."

Naturally, he walked over and inspected the red suit. The only words that came to mind that described the suit were _really freaking cool_. He looked at the blue and yellow ones. They weren't as cool. Blue and Yellow were shit colours compared to Red, at least in his mind.

He walked over to the green one and shrugged. It seemed okay, but like Blue and Yellow, it wasn't as cool. None of the three colours really screamed power. The Green was a light-green and almost looked like it was better suited for a girl. Blue was more of a calming colour than a danger, and yellow… yellow was a girl colour. Scott respected Summer immensely, but a girl in yellow just didn't scream hero like a man in red.

Of course, he was going to have to get used to the tights. Scott was pretty sure he was going to be feeling pretty exposed whenever would wear the Ranger suit. It was very… tight fitting. Summer had one advantage. The suit fit her body type better. After all, she didn't have… a package… down south, and she had the skirt to keep her from feeling exposed.

Aside from that, though, Scott did not envy Summer at all. Nor did he care for the blue or the green suit.

But he did stop at the black suit. Black was a cool colour. Almost just as cool as red, maybe cooler. It was mysterious, it was dangerous and black was powerful. If Scott didn't get red, he would have loved black.

He touched the glass when suddenly he heard a ding coming from the computer. He turned around and made his way over. On the screen were the different characteristics of the suits. Scott read the Red's with pride. It was powerful, it was durable, and it was compatible with most of the weapons Dr. K had on the database already. It was also connected to the Eagle Zord.

Blue, Green, and Yellow were equal with each other: strong, durable and compatible with only a few of the weapons.

Scott read the qualities of the Black suit, though, and his jaw dropped. The readings were off the charts! Whoever wore the black suit practically needed to be Superman! If Scott was reading Dr. K's notes properly, then any regular person wearing the Black suit would be sent to the hospital due to the amount of energy and power required from the body to keep the suit running!

"Whoa…" he breathed, "No wonder we're not looking for a Black Ranger! There's not a human on earth who can handle these powers!"

"What are you doing in here?" Dr. K's distorted voice asked over the intercom. Scott could only assume he was the one being addressed.

"Um, exploring?"

"Get out!" Dr. K shouted.

Scott stumbled as he hurried out of the lab. He did not want to piss off the doc. Flynn had a few days before. That had lead to the discovery of a cannon inside the fridge.

-Fight-Flight-

"Bad dreams?" Lily asked as Alex wobbled into the main room. It had been a while since her incident in the warehouse, and Lily was starting to feel much better around the people she lived with. Screams, loud noises and technology still freaked her out, but she was adapting to her living environments. Casey even told her he had an idea that would help her out. He just needed Kelly and Fran to agree with it.

"Yeah," Alex nodded. He had been having strange dreams for a while now, all centered on Libby. "Where are the others?"

Lily looked around the empty room, "RJ, Dom and Theo are getting some groceries, Hunter's visiting Tori and the ninjas and Casey, Kelly and Fran are in my room talking about something. They haven't been out for hours."

"Hours?" Alex asked. How could they have been locked inside for hours?

Lily laughed and pointed to the clock, "It's two o'clock, sleepy head. You should consider yourself lucky. You sleep even with bad dreams. I can't sleep even if I'm tired."

"I think I have what you have," Alex frowned. He sat down at the table beside Lily.

"Post-Traumatic stress? Why do you think that?"

"I keep getting nightmares," Alex told her. Lily tilted her head.

"Everyone's getting nightmares," she said. "I think you have to have a little more than that. Have you been reliving the Venjix?"

"Uh… not really. Well, I mean, in a way, but that's not what my nightmares really focus on. Sometimes there's the virus and sometimes it's something totally different."

"You haven't had any freak outs, have you?"

Alex shook his head, "Does phantom pain count?"

"No. Any weird phobias?"

"Fear of phantom pain?"

"Alex, work with me."

"Okay, so it's not stress."

"Lucky…"

"But why do I keep getting these nightmares?"

"What are they about?" Lily asked. She figured maybe letting him talk about it might help. Some nights it did help her. Kelly and Fran had started to call those nights "Dream Duty Nights".

"They're about a girl I used to work with," Alex said. "Her name was Olivia. Well, we all used to call her Libby. She was a year older than me and we were very close."

"I take it she didn't make it here?"

"Hunter took us to his Ninja Ops place," Alex explained. "She died when the first bomb fell. She was blown to pieces. There's no way she could survive that."

"I… I guess… I guess not…" Lily was beginning to regret asking Alex about his nightmares. Apparently she wasn't ready for this. Alex looked up when he noticed her stammering.

"Are you okay?"

Lily looked down at her shaking hands and felt her heart start to race as it became harder and harder to breath.

"Lily?"

"I'm sorry, Alex," Lily muttered as she jumped out of her seat and started running to her bedroom. She didn't have time to make it to the door before Casey stepped out. Without warning, she ran right into him. Casey stumbled backwards, but caught her in his arms and held her tight.

Alex stood up and looked at Casey, "I'm sorry. She asked me if I wanted to talk… I didn't…"

"It's fine. It's perfect timing, actually."

Fran and Kelly walked out with their bags all packed. Alex frowned.

"Where are you going?"

"Couches until we can figure this out," Fran told the young boy as she walked to the living area and dropped her bags on the bigger couch. She looked at Kelly, "Mine."

"What?"

"Called it!"

Casey shook his head before looking down at Lily. He offered her a sweet smile and could feel Lily calming down almost instantly.

"Fran and Kelly have agreed to move out of the room to give you a safe place," he told her. "Somewhere you can go when you're feeling scared, or stressed, or when Theo's just being way too anal."

"In other words," Kelly started while glaring at Fran for stealing the bigger couch, "instead of running away from the loft, you can run here. That way we know you're safe, you know you're safe because they'll always be someone here, and there will never be anything inside that room that'll make you uncomfortable."

"And RJ and the others aren't actually getting groceries," Fran added. "Well, I hope they are, we're running low… but they're actually going around the city and looking for things to get to help make your room a little more peaceful. You and Theo have known each other forever, so he knows what makes you happy, and RJ knows what can help calm you down.

"Dom's just along for the ride," Kelly chuckled. "But he had a few good ideas before he left."

Casey opened the door to Lily's new room and instantly she felt her fears diminishing. She smiled as she walked in. So far it was just her bed (the double bed), a dresser and whatever she managed to salvage from Ocean Bluff, but just knowing that this place was a safe place for her made her feel so much better.

RJ, Theo and Dom arrived home at this moment, each carrying handfuls of bags from different stores.

"Look at all the cool stuff we found!" Dominic smiled, holding up his bags.

"Yeah, and then look at the stuff he found for Lily," Theo chuckled. Dominic turned to the small boy.

"Hey, I bought a lot of stuff for Lily. But there was a lot of cool stuff that I liked."

"Anyways," RJ interrupted the two as he reached into one of his bags and pulled out a rolled up poster, "I thought this would be perfect."

He unrolled the poster and held it up for the others to look at. Casey smiled, while Fran, Kelly and Lily all cooed. On the poster was the cutest little cheetah cub. It was looking straight out of the picture with the biggest and most adorable eyes any of the girls had ever seen, and it bore a grin that made it impossible for whoever looking at it not to smile.

"That's so cute!" Fran squealed happily. She looked at Lily, "You're so lucky."

"Thanks," Lily smiled. "Um… I think."

"We got a bunch more stuff," Theo added. "They aren't all cheetah related. There are some figurines, books, more posters, some dancing stuff… and when you're ready to true stereos again we even found some cool dance music."

"You're a dancer?" Kelly asked Lily. "Maybe you can teach Hunter a thing or two."

"Hey!" Hunter called as he walked in just in time to hear his name, "I don't need to learn a thing or two of anything. I'm perfect."

"Kelly agrees," Fran whispered only loud enough so Kelly would hear. The Red head turned to the bookworm and nudged her in the ribs.

"Just out of curiosity… what do you guys think I need to learn?" Hunter asked. He looked at the men standing before him and noticed the shopping bags, "What's all that?"

"We're redecorating Lily's room," Casey smiled. "Kelly and Fran were nice enough to move out."

"It's a safe place for Lily so she doesn't run away again," Alex explained to Hunter. "And apparently Lily's a dancer. I know you need lessons."

"Shut up, kid," Hunter pointed a look at Alex. He turned to Fran and Kelly, "Wait… Lily's room. You two moved out?"

"Of our bedroom," Kelly nodded. "Don't think you're getting rid of us that easily, Bradley. Fran and I will be taking the couches until we can figure out where to put ourselves."

"I got the bigger couch," Fran smiled.

"I get this thing," Kelly said as she patted the love seat. "I still think we should talk about this."

"I don't."

Dominic laughed at the girls' little disagreement, but turned to Hunter. He couldn't help but notice the fling going on between the ninja and Kelly, especially after he had given her flowers. He could tell that something was happening between the two, and couldn't resist helping it along.

"Well, you know… we have the room with two double beds," Dom looked to RJ, hoping his best friend would catch onto what he was saying. "RJ and I share one but Hunter's got room on his bed for one more… right Hunter."

"Dude!" Hunter frowned, turning to the rhino. RJ smirked and decided to back up his friend.

"I don't mind letting a girl come into our room," he said. "Maybe there will be less of an odour."

"Maybe it'll keep Hunter from farting all night," Dominic nodded.

"I'll keep the munchkin couch," Kelly frowned. "By the way, guys, you would make terrible sales people."

"He's not that bad, just when he does the Dutch oven," Dominic frowned, shooting a look Hunter's way.

"It's entertaining for me," RJ chuckled. He turned to Kelly, "I promise you, it beats sleeping on the little couch."

Kelly sighed, "Only if Hunter agrees. We have rules."

"Rules were meant to be broken!" Alex called out. "I vote they share!"

He held his hand up in the air. Almost immediately everyone followed, whether they understood the reason or not. No one really wanted Kelly to sleep on the tiny couch anyways. No one really liked sitting on it, they couldn't imagine sleeping there.

"Well, isn't there Kelly's bed from her old room?" Hunter asked. "We could move that into…"

"Fran'll take the bed, won't you?" Theo offered Fran. "You can bunk with me, Casey and Alex."

"Sure," Fran nodded. She looked at Hunter, "Alex only has a single bed, so it's not like we can share that."

"Sure you could…" Hunter whispered.

"No," Alex shook his head. "No offense, Fran, but I'm not sharing a tiny bed with her! She's a friend, and I like her but… dude, she's seven years older than I am and… she's just… I don't know her as well as you know Kelly!"

Hunter turned to Kelly, "You…"

"Had no idea I would ever be sharing a bed with you," Kelly shook her head. She turned to the rest of the room, "Honestly, guys, I'm okay on the couch, big or small. I'll sleep on the floor…"

"It's settled," Dom stated. He grabbed Kelly's bags and started heading for his room. "She's sleeping with us."

"I can take the floor," Kelly mouthed to Hunter, "I really don't care."

"Neither do I," Hunter mouthed back.

Kelly turned to the roses before going into her new bedroom. They were still sitting in their cup on the counter. They hadn't even begun to wilt away yet. In fact, Kelly was almost certain they were becoming more and more beautiful.

When she looked inside her new room, she saw Hunter had taken her bags from Dom and he was placing them on the floor. She didn't blame him for actually forcing her to sleep on the floor.

But then, she saw something that nearly stopped her heart. Hunter grabbed her pillow and placed it on what Kelly could only hope was her side of the bed. For a moment, she expected to see Hunter remove his pillow and place it on the floor, displaying what little chivalry he did possess. But he never did. He kept his pillow on the bed, right beside hers.

Hunter looked out at her as he finished arranging the bed, "We're just sleeping together. It's not like this can't be professional."

"Yeah…" Kelly nodded. She shook her head and whispered to herself in a sarcastic tone, "Because professionals sleep together all the time without anything ever happening."

She honestly wanted to respect her deal with Hunter. The deal he had created. But, ironically enough, he was making it harder and harder for her to do so. The flowers, the bed; what was next?


	32. Hunter's Feelings

For the first time in what felt like ages, Hunter could feel a warm body pressed against his in bed. He could feel his arms wrapped around the small frame of the woman sleeping next to him and for a moment he wanted to pull her in even closer and never let her go. For a moment, he forgot the world had come to an end, and he was just another survivor stuck inside this domed city.

For a moment, Hunter forgot that the best day of his life had turned into a total wreck. He forgot about the tears in his bride-to-be's eyes as her maid of honour stepped forward and declared the love between him and his bride to be misplaced love. For a blissful moment, Hunter thought that everything had worked out.

But that moment vanished quickly as Hunter's mind really started going. Before he could even open his eyes he could remember everything. The wedding, the fighting, the hurt, the end of the world. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember who exactly had crawled into bed with him. Now he was scared to open his eyes. What if RJ or Dom got the beds confused after getting up for the bathroom or a glass of water?

This could be very awkward.

Slowly, Hunter opened his eyes, but only one at a time, terrified of what he might see. He barely held his eye open for a second before screwing it shut again and letting the picture form on his eyelids. He could see red. Shane? No way. Shane didn't even live here. It would be more than awkward if Shane mistook Hunter's bed for his own. It would be stupid and Hunter would have _a lot _of questions.

Casey? There was more of a chance there, but Casey snored. Everyone knew that. Some nights, Hunter, Dom and RJ would lie awake as Casey's snoring could be heard in their bedroom. Those were the nights where everyone was on _"Lily duty"_. Probably the only person in the house who had no idea Casey snored was Casey.

Seeing as there was no snoring, Hunter could rule out Casey. Who else wore red? Alex was a possibility. The young boy could have had a nightmare and come into Hunter's room, but the odds of that happening were slim. Alex was a sixteen year old boy. He didn't want to crawl into some man's bed after a nightmare. If he was switching beds, he would probably go to Kelly long before he came here to Hunter.

Suddenly, it hit.

Kelly.

Hunter opened his eyes again and saw her sleeping form curled up in his arms. He couldn't help but notice she looked rather peaceful and content. But he knew she would. He knew she liked him. This was a dream come true for her. For him, it was just an extra body hogging his bed space.

So then why was he was happy about it? Why was he feeling butterflies? Why could he feel his cheeks burning? Why did he wish RJ and Dom weren't in the room right now so he could wake Kelly up and really make her morning special. He didn't like her! She was a good… person to be with. At best! She ruined his wedding! She didn't deserve happiness, least of all with him!

But why did Hunter not give a damn? Why did he feel this growing need to press his lips against hers and wake her with a passionate kiss?

But the biggest question of all: why were these feelings, the ones Hunter felt right now, why were they so much stronger than they ever had been when he woke up beside Tori? Why were they so much stronger than anytime, _anytime_, he had ever been with Tori?

-Fight-Flight-

Breakfast time at RPM was always a little tense. Due to Dr. K's belief that Venjix could strike at any hour, the Rangers needed to be ready for any sudden training sessions. That meant the Rangers never had any idea whether they were getting the day off or not until right after breakfast. There were a few planned sessions, but for the most part, training was beginning to be an in the moment deal.

While Flynn and Summer ate their cereal, Scott stared at them. He knew something they did. He had seen the Ranger suits. They hadn't. He knew that somewhere down the road there was going to be two new Rangers added to the team; one a superman if he had read the information for Ranger Black properly.

While Scott felt special knowing this secret, he couldn't help but share. He put his spoon down and quickly looked around the room for any signs of Tori.

"Guess what," he whispered when the coast was clear. Summer and Flynn exchanged a look before Summer leaned forward.

"You're running low on your special shampoo and don't know where to get more," she teased with a smirk. Scott shook his head and frowned.

"No. And by the way, this is all natural."

"Sure it is," Summer nodded.

Flynn chuckled, "So, what the secret?" he asked Scott, trying to get back on topic.

Scott pointed to the door where just on the other side was the giant lab, "Have you guys ever seen what's inside that room?"

"Scott, that door's always locked," Summer shook her head. "Last night I got up for a glass of water, stupidly thought I knew my way in the dark, and ran right into the door. It never opened. It's the only automatic door on the face of the planet that's never opened."

"That's a door?" Flynn frowned, looking at the large metal break in the wall. "It doesn't look like a door."

"Oh, it's a door," Scott said. "Guess what's on the other side."

"I didn't even know that was a door!" Flynn said. "How do you know what's on the other side?"

"He's the red guy," Summer shrugged. She grabbed her bowl and collected Flynn's and Scott's as she got up. She was getting used to doing the dished. She actually found it to be rather fun. "Red is always the special one."

"I guess the doc left it unlocked for a minute," Scott said. "There's a whole room behind that door, filled with what I think is going to be our Ranger stuff."

"Our stuff?" Flynn asked and even Summer turned back to face the boys. Normally she wasn't into gadgets and toys, but she was interested to hear about her Ranger stuff.

"Weapons, blasters, swords… little cell chip things… I don't know what for… and, get this… Ranger suits."

"You saw the suits?"

"In the flesh," Scott nodded. "Red, Yellow, Blue, Green and Black.

"Wow," Summer smiled. Flynn frowned.

"Green and Black?"

"You think you're surprised. Just wait until I tell you the requirements for the Black spandex."

The lights flicked and the Rangers looked up. Suddenly, they spotted a K on the computer screen over the kitchen sink, but instead of a white background, the entire screen, minus the K, was red.

"THAT IS NOT SPANDEX!"

Lasers dropped from the ceiling and started firing on their own. Scott and Flynn ducked under the table, taking cover, while Summer hid behind the counters, just out of sight of the kitchen lasers.

"Don't ever say that again!" Flynn yelled to Scott.

"I think the doc's got a few unresolved issues," Summer nodded.

-Fight-Flight-

Things weren't as dangerous back at the loft, but after this morning, Hunter probably would have preferred to be a moving target for lasers instead of at home with Kelly.

RJ, Theo, Dom and Fran were out renovating the new JKP. Lily was in her bedroom, hiding away from the rest of the world, and Casey offered to stay back and keep an eye on her.

Alex was sitting on the couch, enjoying the video game console that had been dropped off at the door. Finally some real entertainment for the boy.

Kelly was reading through the ads, searching for a place to set up Storm Chargers. This was getting harder and harder, and Kelly was really starting to regret giving up the JKP location without much of a fight.

Hunter couldn't help but watch her. The way she moved, she way she spoke, the way she smiled when she caught him looking at her. His heart nearly beat right out of his chest when she had spoken to him directly.

Hunter hated that everyone was out of the house, too. He and Kelly were the oldest. They were Casey's senior by eight years, and they had already pretty much adopted Alex as their son. With only Casey, Lily and Alex home, it almost felt like they were playing a weird game of house. Kelly was mommy, Hunter was daddy. Alex was the annoying youngest son. Lily was… the problem child and Casey was the mature older brother. This "game" didn't help the way Hunter felt because to him, it felt almost natural. Like this was in his future.

"I give up," Kelly said, putting the newspaper and her pen down. "There's nothing. I'm just going to have to accept the fact that I will be wearing zebra pants and an orange hat for the rest of my life."

"Zebra pants?" Alex frowned, paused his game and turned to Kelly. "Why zebra pants?"

"It's the JKP uniform," Kelly explained for him. She dropped her head on the table, "If dad were here he would kill me for giving up like this. He never gave up. That's how he started the business."

"So, just work at JKP until you have enough money to buy and renovate a place?" Casey suggested. He walked over to the table and grabbed the newspaper. Ever since he promised Lily he would help her, he had been checking the newspaper every day for a professional therapist. They were proving to be very difficult to find. At this point, Casey was ready to settle for mediocre if it meant giving his friend some help. "It's going to take me a while to get a gym set up. That dream's on the back burner."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, trying not to choke on his own words. Not in front of Kelly. "RJ's paying you for the renovations, right?"

"Yeah, like five bucks a day," Casey nodded. "He doesn't have much money. That five bucks is pretty much lunch between shifts. But I was thinking of packing lunches now and asking RJ for the pay in cash."

"Saving up for the gym?"

Casey shook his head and quickly glanced at Lily's door, "There's something before that."

"You're saving up for Lily," Alex smirked. He leaned against the back of the couch so he was facing the tiger. "You're going to pay for her therapy, aren't you?"

"Lily's not fit to earn any money, and whatever money she has left on her ID after food will probably have to go to medication. I'm pretty sure that, if there is any kind of therapist out there, they aren't going to come cheap."

"Don't worry too much about it, Case," Kelly smiled. "I'm sure RJ's going to help. And Theo, and Dom and Fran. I'm ready to chip in a decent share if you need it. We all want Lily to get better."

Kelly gathered her things from the kitchen table, "Anyways, enjoy advertisement surfing. I'm going for a shower."

Hunter felt his jaw hit the floor. He quickly shook off his feelings and waved dismissively.

"Uh, yeah, you do that."

Kelly turned to him, "Um, thanks for your permission?" she chuckled. Hunter started to blush, realising that as a result of trying to act normal he had spoken when there was nothing to really be said. Kelly smirked when she saw him blush, "You okay, there, Bradley? You're red as a tomato, or have you never heard a woman declare her shower before? Surely your ex must have at least once."

"Yeah, yeah, she did," Hunter nodded. "It's just… that reminded me of… Tori. You know… me and Tori. The woman I still kinda… uh, love? Her in the shower and me… you know…"

Kelly held up her hand, "Please don't say anymore. I helped the woman pee before the wedding ceremony and that's as close as I ever want to get to seeing her naked in both reality and mentally."

Kelly continued her walk to the bathroom and the whole way Hunter couldn't keep his eyes off her, nor could he keep his mind from straying to her in the shower.

With Hunter gone in la-la land, Alex felt free to speak his mind to Casey.

"Maybe it was a bad idea bunking those two together," he said to the older boy. Casey looked up from the paper.

"Why?"

"I think he's picturing her naked," Alex turned to Hunter and noticed the smirk on his friend's face. Casey chuckled.

"Go back to video games, kid."

-Fight-Flight-

"If there's one thing I've learned today, it that's the Ranger suits are not made out of spandex," Scott said as he rubbed his neck. He, Flynn and Summer had spent their entire day of training avoiding laser beams and high-powered blasts. He was far from rested, relaxed and ready for a Rangering career.

"I always thought they were," Tori commented. In her hand she held the key to the Ranger's survival. The off switch for the lasers and blasters in the Garage. Thankfully she found it before she needed to search for a new team of Rangers. "You know, tight, stretchy, spandex-y…"

"Apparently not," Flynn muttered as he crashed on the couch, "This is insane. I'm sorry, but I don't think Venjix is ever going to be that intense."

"Is my hair still on fire?" Summer frowned. She touched the top of her head and turned to her teammates and mentor, "I think it's still on fire."

"Relax," Scott chuckled, "We put it out. Anyways, you have a fully trained water ninja and a water balloon expert."

"But I like my hair…" Summer grabbed the strand of hair that had been singed slightly. Not much of her blonde locks were gone, in fact, not enough for anyone to ever really notice she got an unexpected hair cut, but that didn't stop Summer from feeling like her hair was half its length.

"I'll talk to the doc about cutting you guys a little slack," Tori said. "I think after that, we all deserve a break. A little time off. Real time off."

"Aren't we always on duty?" Scott asked. "I mean, Venjix never sleeps. Neither should we."

"That wasn't in the contract!" Flynn growled.

Tori shook her head, "The shields are still going to be fully powered for a couple more days. Until then you guys should have nothing to worry about. There's not a robot or human on this planet that can get past the shields."

"When are they coming down?" Summer asked, feeling her stomach turn. She had gone on one mission already, but it was going to be a different game entirely when the world was truly at stake.

"The day after Valentine's day," Tori said. "I'm kinda looking forward to it. Maybe after you guys fight your first monster, Colonel Truman and Dr. K will realise that I'm living up to my end of the bargain and they'll let me live a little outside of these four walls."

"And they'll give you pain killers," Scott chuckled. "How's the shoulder?"

Tori looked at her arm. While she hadn't needed the sling in quite some time now, her shoulder did still hurt a lot at times. But she was a ninja. Pain was second nature to her. It wasn't anything she couldn't deal with.

"It's fine," she smiled. "I'll live."

"Good," Scott looked at his teammates, "Maybe, if we're up to it, we can celebrate… or you know, just have a good time on our last night of total safety."

"Celebrate danger?" Summer frowned. She looked at Flynn, "I think someone's been shot in the head a few too many times."

Scott shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not suggesting that. I was just thinking we could all have a little fun on Valentine's Day. Maybe we can invite Tori's friends and have a party or dance kinda thing. You know, enjoy our last night off before we really are on duty around the clock."

"I'm up for it," Flynn smirked. "A Valentine's day party."

"You want to invite my friends to a party?" Tori chuckled. "My friends? Shane and Dustin included?"

"Yeah," Scott nodded. "Why not? Us four having a party won't be much fun. And I think it might be lamer if we do actually invite the doc out of his lab."

"I like it," Flynn smiled. He looked at Summer, "You told me about your birthday party before the Venjix. You're pretty good at setting this stuff up, right?"

"Uh, I'm good at ideas," Summer shrugged. "Andrews took care of putting everything together."

"Think you can remember what he did?"

Summer nodded, "I can try. After all, how can you really screw up a danger celebration party?"

"Sweet!" Scott smiled. He looked at Flynn and waited until Tori was looking away, "Hey, uh, think you could get us some drinks or something… you know…"

"Oh," Flynn shook his head, "You think just because I'm Scottish I know where the alcohol is? Way to stereotype…!"

"No… Flynn, I was just… I…"

"I'm joking," Flynn laughed. "My dad will probably be happy to give us some. As far as he's concerned, we're all legal, and it's not a party without something to drink."

"Drink?" Tori chimed in, raising a quizzical eyebrow. Flynn and Scott exchanged looks.

"Punch," Scott said. "You know… the good old stuff for me, Flynn and Summer… and that kid we met… you know Andrew or… "

"Alex?"

"Yeah. I bet he loves a good glass of non-alcoholic punch, right Flynn."

"Don't look at me, lad, I'm legal," Flynn smirked, leaning back on the couch. "Corinth hasn't officially announced a drinking age and I'm Scottish."

"Yes to the party," Tori smiled, "and… yes to some drinking for you guys. And how about we extend the invitation to the kung-fun kittens? Hunter and Kelly are living with them and I think it would be nice to get to know them."

"You mean we would have to invite Lily?" Flynn frowned. "To a party? With music?"

"She obviously wasn't there when the cheetah and wolf came out," Summer nodded.

"Hopefully Lily will be ready to handle a night out by then. Anyways, it couldn't hurt to invite them and see what they say."

"It would hurt if they say no," Summer pointed out with a laugh. "But we should invite them. The more the merrier."


	33. Late Nights

Hunter never liked accidental late nights. Waking up in the middle of the night after a dream and never being able to fall asleep again. He couldn't focus, or rather, was too focus on his dream. Every time he was about to drift off, thoughts of his dream came flooding back, and he couldn't get rid of them.

He could feel himself sinking back into a sleep and knew this would be when it happened again. He wasn't surprised when his bedroom faded back into the wedding chapel and he was standing at the front of the room, in a tuxedo. All his friends were in the seats and his brother was standing beside him. Hunter glanced at the guests and saw there were only two of his friends actually missing: Tori and Kelly.

Suddenly, the doors at the back of the room opened up, and Kelly stepped out in a beautiful white dress. She smiled as she locked eyes with her groom and started her way down the aisle. Hunter couldn't help but smile back and hope that the pianist was going to hurry up the march so he could hold his bride.

But, just like every other time, something stopped the wedding. The first time it had been Tori as Kelly's maid of honour. The time after that, Hunter had cold feet, literally. When he looked down his feet were ice cubes. The time after that, Blake stopped the wedding and confessed his love for Kelly. Then, the next time, when it was Kelly's turn to say I do, she didn't say it. Instead she started yelling at Hunter and ran off. However, this time, Hunter had a feeling something terrible was going to happen; something that would be worse than not getting married.

Just as his dream self predicted, the wedding wasn't flawless. Kelly was about halfway down the aisle before robots – Grinders as Tori called them – rushed into the chapel, firing their blasters at anything that moved. The guests screamed and got up from their seats, hoping to escape, but there was only one door. The crowd of panicked people made it next to impossible for Hunter and his Ranger friends to reach the Grinders, and even harder for Hunter to reach his defenceless bride.

Hunter pushed his way through the crowd, hoping to reach Kelly before the Grinders did, but a terror-filled scream stopped him in his tracks. Time slowed to a crawl and everything around Hunter disappeared as he watched Kelly fall. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Just like that, before Hunter could ever make it to Kelly, he was pulled from his dream. He sat up in his bed, panting heavily. He shut his eyes again and focused on suppressing his emotions from his dream, but this time it was too difficult. This time, Hunter couldn't just roll over and try again. He had watched Kelly die. At least in the other versions, Kelly was okay, healthy, and there was still a chance for her to be happy. This time, things were different.

He glanced down at her sleeping form lying next to him. At least it was just a dream and Kelly was okay, but that didn't keep him from wanting to take her in his arms and hold her close, away from the dangers they now faced.

But instead of doing that, Hunter simply reached out and gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, smiling as he did this. Kelly was asleep, she wouldn't know he was touching her, and RJ and Dom wouldn't ever have a clue. Hunter found, though, that after a few seconds, he wanted more. He shifted in bed so he was looking over Kelly, and slowly he leaned down and closed his eyes and kissed her lips. He couldn't contain himself anymore after that. He laced his fingers with hers, holding her hands as he leaned down for more kissed. It didn't register in his mind what he was doing.

"Hunter?"

Hunter jumped back, opened his eyes and saw Kelly's looking up at him. Panicked and embarrassed, Hunter hopped out of bed and ran into the main room, barely noticing that both Lily and Alex were awake, like him, due to dreams. He rushed to the kitchen and grabbed himself a glass of water before Kelly walked out.

"What the hell?" she asked him as she approached the counter.

"Look, Kelly, I'm sorry…"

"For what? Freaking me out?" Kelly really wished she could shout right now, but she didn't want to wake anyone up.

"I know! I'm sorry… I just couldn't stop myself…"

"That's comforting!" Kelly scoffed. "You couldn't stop yourself from what, Hunter?"

"Kelly…" Alex called, but his former boss wasn't listening to him. She held her gaze on Hunter.

"What happened, Hunter?"

"Look, I just had a dream, okay…" Hunter tried to explain. "I don't know, maybe I've got the dream bug that's been going around…"

"Not funny!" both Alex and Lily shouted.

"It's not going to happen again, Kelly… I promise."

"What did you do?" Alex asked, hoping his voice would be heard. Kelly and Hunter seemed to be off in their own world.

"Nothing, Alex," Kelly answered him, but her eyes were still locked on Hunter. She, nor Hunter, were so focused on each other that they didn't notice the rest of the household waking up and stepping out of their rooms.

"I'll sleep on the couch, Kel… for the next year! I'm really, really sorry!"

Hunter set his glass down on the counter and rushed past Kelly, hoping to get to his bedroom to grab his things before she asked another question. The only one that really hadn't been asked yet and the only one Hunter had an answer to.

Kelly wasn't done with him yet. Under normal circumstances she would have loved for Hunter to sweep her off her feet, but he had never told her he felt that way for her. In fact, he had told her the opposite. He hated her for what she had done. That just made everything all the more confusing, and Kelly wanted answers. She raced after him, grabbing his arm. Hunter tried to pull away, but he didn't pull very hard, afraid he might hurt her. Kelly managed to stop him just a few feet from the bedroom.

"Why?" she asked.

Hunter turned to face her. Now that the question had been asked, he knew she deserved an answer. He moved in closer to her and pulled her into him. He pressed his lips onto hers and kissed her.

Everyone watching couldn't take their eyes off the scene out of pure shock. After a moment, though, Fran snapped back to reality and nudged Theo.

"Why are they still going?"

Kelly suddenly pressed her hands against Hunter's chest and pushed him away. The moment was done and gone. She wanted answers now. What this meant, why he did it, and why he hadn't done it earlier.

"Hunter…"

"I don't know, Kel," Hunter answered her. "But I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"I'm going to sleep on the couch. Maybe then the dreams will stop and I can figure this out."

"Hunter…"

"We had a deal, Kel!"

"And I'm more than happy to break it!"

"I don't know if I'm ready yet!" Hunter shouted.

"You kissed me…"

"I couldn't… I mean… I had to… you asked why I tried and… I've got to go."

Just like that, Hunter ran for the door. Kelly still wasn't done. She chased after him.

"Hunter! It's the middle of the night!"

"I know!" he pulled the door opened but Kelly pressed it shut.

"You can talk to me," she offered. "You know I'm not going to do anything…"

"But I might," Hunter interrupted her. "I just… there's someone else I need to talk to… before I can do anything else… just… let me go."

"Hunter…"

"Let me go," Hunter growled.

Kelly stepped aside and let Hunter leave. She turned to the others and ran her hand through her hair. Now she needed to figure this out.

Alex was the only one with his jaw still on the floor from the kiss. It played over and over again in his mind. Hunter kissing Kelly. Hunter kissing Kelly. Hunter kissing Kelly.

Suddenly, he turned to Lily, who was on the couch next to him.

"Pst," he whispered, "Trade eyes with me."

"What?" Lily looked at him.

"I was wrong; I don't want them to be happy together. It's creepy and disgusting. Trade eyes with me so I don't have to see that from my perspective ever again."

Lily rolled her eyes and shoved the younger boy off the couch.


	34. True Feelings of Love

It was early, Hunter realised that, but he needed to figure himself out. He needed to understand what he was feeling, why he was feeling it, and why he couldn't express it without feeling guilty. He knew there was only one person who could help him with this.

He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. It was early, everyone should be in bed. He waited a few minutes before knocking again; this time louder.

"COMING!" he heard her voice scream from the other side of the door before it was opened. Hunter had seen Tori early in the morning before, but this time he had to laugh.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"You try convincing Dr. K to have a party here at the Garage," Tori growled. She tried fixing her hair, knowing that's what Hunter meant.

"A party?"

"Yeah, you were invited," Tori nodded, "Before you knocked on my door at… what time is it?"

"Three-thirty."

"Get out," Tori tried closing the door but Hunter put his foot in the way, effectively keeping the door from shutting.

"We need to talk."

"We already broke up, Hunter…"

"It's about sex."

"You're… okay."

"It's about… wait… okay?"

"It's three-thirty in the morning, Hunter, I'm not responsible for anything that comes out of my mouth, nor can my judgement fully be trusted."

"Can I come in?"

Tori rolled her eyes and opened the door, allowing her ex-fiancé to step into the garage. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at him.

"You have about thirty seconds."

"I kissed Kelly… In bed… I want to take it further."

"There are condoms in the lab if you want…"

"I want to take it further, but I don't know how."

"There's a pill for that."

"No! Tori, just… I've got these weird feelings."

"Love?"

"No… it's different."

"Okay, different how?"

"I don't feel the same way for Kelly as I did for you."

"I hope not," Tori said. "Kelly and I are two different people. Of course you're going to feel differently."

"But…" Hunter looked at his feet, "I think… I think I love her more."

Tori's eyes widened. Suddenly she was very interested. She bounced slightly and smiled.

"Oh, do tell!"

Hunter was put off by her reaction. He knew she had more than likely moved on from him, but he at least hoped and assumed that there would still be feelings between them. Maybe a little jealousy on her part.

"You're… you're okay with this?" he asked.

"Duh," Tori nodded. "I gave Kelly my blessing months ago! I never thought anything would happen because you as stubborn as an ass, but I've moved on. I love Blake more than I've ever loved you. I'm just sorry I had to put you through everything I did."

"You… you what?"

"When you love someone, Hunter, you'll do anything for them. You care for them, you put them first. But when you really love someone… like… when you think you've found the one… you know it."

"You do?"

Tori nodded her head, "Yep. All the pain and heartache that you've ever felt before, it just disappears. Nothing really matters because you just… know that the person you're with now, they're never going to hurt you. Well, in your case, they're never going to hurt you again."

"What are you saying?" Hunter frowned.

"I'm saying you better find someone who you love more than me. We were doomed, Hunter. Our love was pretty much a lie. I wanted Blake and you missed him. What we felt wasn't real. You can't compare that love to real love. If you love Kelly, and it feels different than the way it felt with me, maybe that means it's real. I mean, the woman loves you so much, she's not letting herself love you because she knows it makes you uncomfortable and you don't like it."

"But she ruined my wedding…"

"Are you still hung up on that?" Tori frowned. This excuse was really starting to get old. Hunter was going to have to learn to move on, or he was never going to be happy. Tori knew that Kelly could be patient, but there was only so long a woman like her was going to wait, especially with a romantic holiday fast approaching. "My advice, Hunter… GET OVER IT!"

"What…?"

"That happened a few months ago. It's okay to hurt. I'm still hurting a little bit. But everything worked out! For both of us! I realised that our relationship doesn't work. Better now than later on down the road. I've moved on. I'm with Blake now. And I still love you, Hunter… but as a friend… maybe as a brother further down the road, but that's it. You have to move on too. Kelly ruined your wedding, big deal. At least she didn't let it happen. At least she stopped it before we both made fools out of ourselves and did something we both regretted."

Tori grabbed Hunter by the shoulders and pushed him towards the door, forcing him to leave the Garage.

"Now, go back into that bed and make sweet love to the woman who's waited so long for you to figure this out. I'm going back to bed and I'm going to try and forget those words ever came out of my mouth."

She shoved Hunter outside and closed the door behind him. She rubbed her temples and sighed.

"You know life is screwed up when you tell your groom to fuck your maid of honour. Way to go, Tori. This is why I don't wake up at three-thirty in the morning."

"Who was that?"

Tori looked up and saw her Rangers were standing just outside their bedrooms. She shook her head.

"I'm not responsible for anything that comes out of my mouth, nor can my judgement fully be trusted. I'm going back to bed and this…" she motioned to the room around her, "never happened."

"She's got to get out of this garage," Summer whispered as she and the boys turned back to their doors.

"I think I might have to talk to my dad," Scott nodded.

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter didn't go straight home. He spent the early morning hours walking around the city, trying to use Tori's advice to figure out just what he was supposed to do. Did he really love Kelly? Was that the feeling he was feeling? Well, he knew he loved her. He had kissed her and felt something like sparks. But was it true that he love, loved her. Like she was the one for him.

He still didn't have complete answers when he got home. But maybe he didn't need it. Maybe true love was simply just a gamble. Maybe it was just like a game, where you put everything on the line in hopes of coming out a winner. No risk, no reward. And maybe, just maybe, by exploring his feelings, Hunter would be able to figure out what was stirring deep inside him.

When he stepped into the loft, the first person he noticed was Kelly. She was sitting at the breakfast table. Her bowl of cereal was full and it didn't look like she was very hungry. Hunter quickly scanned the room and noticed everyone seemed to walking on eggshells. When they spotted him, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at him, except for Kelly. She continued to look at her bowl of cereal, as if mesmerized by the floating pieces in her milk.

Hunter approached the table and looked down at Kelly. She finally noticed his presence and glanced up at him. She offered him a smile, but Hunter saw right through it. She was hurting. After last night, though, he couldn't really blame her. He had kissed her, been caught in a compromising position, kissed her again and then left, without any word on how he felt or why he had kissed her.

"I'm back," was all he could say to break the silence, feeling it was still too awkward to just jump right in.

"I can see that," Kelly whispered.

"I went to talk with Tori."

"You woke her up?"

"Yeah, bad idea, huh?" he moved his hands towards the spot where his pockets should have been, until he realised he had been walking around in his pyjamas pants and there were no pockets. He let his hands fall to his sides and he looked at Kelly again, "I think… I think you deserve an answer."

"Look, Hunter, if it helps, Fran and I are more than happy to swap beds for a few days…"

Hunter shook his head, "I love you too, Kelly. I'm confused as hell about this… but I know that I do love you and I'm ready for this."

"Hunter…"

"I know I've pushed you away… I've yelled at you… I've done everything that should make you hate me… but if you do still love me, I'm ready to give this thing a shot," Hunter looked Kelly in the eyes, "Please, Kelly… tell me I didn't miss my chance."

Kelly bit her lip and looked around the room at her friends. She motioned for Hunter to lean in a little closer.

"This would be a lot less awkward if we were alone," she whispered in his ear. Hunter nodded, agreeing quickly. He held out his hand to help her out of her seat, but Kelly jumped up, into his arms, and kissed him.

"Aw!" Fran and Lily both cooed.

"Gross," Alex spat.

Kelly pulled away for just a moment, "It's about damn time, Bradley. I was starting to consider other options."

"Like who? Really, Kel, there's no one better than me," Hunter smiled proudly.

Kelly rolled her eyes, "I don't know. Maybe RJ and I could have worked… you know, if things were different. Maybe in some alternate universe or something."

"Yeah, right," Hunter scoffed. He pulled her in closer. "You're mine."


	35. Something to Hold

Dustin jumped onto the couch and landed in the middle, right between Shane and Cam. Shane bounced slightly, but never looked away from the TV, while Cam shot the former yellow Ranger a glance. He was trying to work on his new idea. Almost a month had gone by already since the Venjix took over earth. In another week and a few days, it was going to be the one month anniversary. While Corinth city was supplying all citizens with money cards, there was only about two months left with the free money, and then everyone was on their own. Cam knew that if he and the boys wanted to be okay financially, they were going to have to get their butts into gear. He was thinking about opening up a new Ninja Academy – Shane helped come up with that idea – allowing any surviving ninjas to return to training, and recruiting new members to join. He hoped that he could run this idea past the military, considering they already knew about Tori and her ninja background, and if his idea was accepted, he hoped it would be a paying job. After all, he could help the military. Who better to recruit than trained ninjas? Disciplined, well trained, strong, determined, respectable and brave.

But Dustin was always a distraction. He shoved a paper in front of his green friend.

"Look! An invitation!"

"What are you, five?" Cam asked, ripping the paper from Dustin's hands. "Let me see that."

He read over the invitation and smiled. At least Dustin interrupted him for something rather important.

"It's an invite from Tori and the Rangers," Cam smiled. He shifted on the couch and looked back at the kitchen table, where Blake was sitting. "She's invited us to a party."

"A party? She's not allowed to leave the garage," Blake frowned. He got up and walked over to the couch to read the invitation for himself.

Shane turned off the TV, "Did someone say party?"

"End of the world party, dude," Dustin nodded. "End of the world/Valentine's Day party!"

"Valentine's day?" Shane frowned. He turned to Blake and then shook his head, "Nope, sorry. I'm out."

"What?"

Dustin sighed. He figured it was time to explain things to Cam and Blake. He knew why Shane turned away the minute he announced it was a Valentine's Day dance."

"Shane doesn't do Valentine's dances unless he has a date," he started.

Blake shook his head, "No way, dude. You were always e-mailing me about Valentine's parties! You said you went every year!"

"Yeah, because I invited Tori as my date," Shane said. "Senior prom, Wind Ninja dances, Valentine's Day dances… you know; the typical couple stuff. We always went as friends so that neither of us was alone."

"I was the bathroom stand in," Dustin laughed. "When Shane had to go I stood with Tori, and when Tori had to go I stood with Shane and helped him convince people that the hot blond chick was actually his date."

"So, why won't you go now?" Blake asked. Shane turned to the navy Ranger and shot him a look.

"Do you really want me to invite your girlfriend to a romantic dance?"

"Isn't that what you did with Hunter? I mean, you can have a few dances with Tori. I don't mind."

"I can't do that, man," Shane frowned. "And I never did that to Hunter. He never attended a Wind Ninja dance, and I never went to a Thunder dance."

"So you shared Tori?"

Shane shrugged, "Pretty much. But not like… date, date. Just like… Dustin and I need a girl with us."

"Yeah, if not… well… things get…" Dustin bit his lip and looked at Shane, hoping he could find the right words.

"People start to assume that…"

"If we go to dances without dates… just each other…"

"And hang out together…"

"We, uh… get labelled…"

"That's where your bromance comes from!" Cam laughed, suddenly clueing in.

"Yeah," Shane nodded. "That's pretty much it. That's why we have Tori. Well, she's a friend and…"

"That way we're a group of people at a dance. Not a couple of people."

"Emphasis on couple," Dustin nodded. "And, chicks see us with Tori and we automatically look a little cooler."

"But, girls won't ask you out if they think you're with Tori," Blake frowned. "They'll steer clear."

"Or they get jealous of Tori and we end up having…"

"A good time," Shane interrupted Dustin. "We have a good time."

Blake looked from Shane to Dustin, "I'm going to pretend I never heard that. But can we all agree that on Valentine's Day, Tori is my date, and only mine?"

"Deal," all three other boys nodded.

"I'm not going," Shane added. "No date means I'm a loser."

"Dude, there's a total of five girls going to this party," Dustin told his friend, "I think most of us are going to look like losers. You might as well join the in-crowd."

"And are you really going to pass up a chance to hang out with Tori? She's probably feeling trapped in that garage," Cam pointed out. Shane sighed.

"Why did she have to go and get herself arrested?"

-Fight-Flight-

"Ranger Yellow… you have got to be kidding me!"

Summer looked at the computer screen hovering just over her head. The Yellow Ranger thought it would be a fun idea to decorate the Garage a little early for the Valentine's Day dance. She had already hand delivered the invitations and she was really starting to get into the mood. She had sent Flynn out to get more decorations, and Scott was getting some extra groceries.

Of course, decorating the Garage meant decorating everything; including the computer screens. As far as Summer was concerned, Dr. K's screens all needed to be covered in something Valentine-y.

"What? It's just cupid. He's cute!"

"He's on my screen. Now all I see is the backside of an unusually armed infant."

"It's love arrows."

"It's sickening."

"That's the spirit!" Summer chuckled as she stepped down the ladder. She had to agree with Dr. K. Sometimes love could be a little sick, especially on Valentine's Day.

Summer walked to her bag, filled with plenty more decorations, and pulled out a long red and pink streamer. She searched the room.

"Where the hell am I going to hang this?"

Tori stepped out from her bedroom and stopped dead in her tracks as she looked around the half-decorated room.

"Who died?"

"It's Valentine's Day," Summer laughed.

Tori flicked away a hanging cupid baby, "Are you sure? These things look like they're ready to kill me."

"It's for the party!" Summer smiled.

"Right… the party. Did you send out the invitations?"

Summer nodded her head, "I left them at the addresses you gave me. I didn't want to knock though so I just left them shoved in the bottom of the door or the mailbox."

"Did you ask for R.S.?"

"Yes."

"Anyone call back yet?"

"Not yet. I just dropped off the invites a few hours ago, though. I don't really expect to get R.S. until about Monday afternoon."

"That's the start of the party," Tori frowned. Summer smiled again.

"Exactly."

The conversation stopped when the Garage door started to open and Flynn's hummer pulled in. Summer jumped happily. She was going to get more decorations. Tori shook her head and laughed.

"You remind me of another young girl I used to know," she said. "She loved decorating. She was a natural at it."

Flynn hopped out of his truck and pulled out bag after bag, each one overflowing with Valentine's Day decorations. Tori's jaw dropped as she turned to one of Dr. K's computer screens. The doctor sighed loudly.

"This is why I am against allowing teenagers to host a party in the Ranger base."

"They'll clean up, doc… I hope."

Summer rushed over to Flynn and helped him with the bags. She walked them over to a table she had set up in the middle of the Garage and she placed them down. When she turned around, she saw Flynn had opened the right hand back door and was reaching for something else.

"I love decorations as much as the next girl, Flynn, but I think we have enough."

"I agree," she heard Flynn say before he pulled his head out from the car. "But I still needed to get you these…"

Flynn pulled out a bouquet of flowers for Summer and smiled as he handed them to her. Summer blushed as she took them from the Blue Ranger. She wasn't expecting this.

"It's heather," Flynn told the girl. "It's a Scottish thing… from back home."

"Thank you."

"Our new life starts on Valentine's day," Flynn smiled. "This is just a reminder of that."

Summer moved the bouquet into one hand, then, with her free hand, she reached out and wrapped her arm around Flynn. Flynn grinned as he wrapped both his arms around her. He knew it wasn't going to be easy for her to turn herself around. He had no idea of the true story behind her. What her past really was like; who she truly was.

But to him and Scott, that didn't matter.

Flynn flashed a quick smile as he pulled out of the hug. He looked at her as she gazed happily at the flowers in her hand.

"Just remember, Summer. We don't care where you came from. All that matters is where you're going."

"Hopefully it's to the fridge," Scott called as he walked back into the Garage, harbouring jealous feelings towards Flynn due to the fact that the blue Ranger had a car and he still didn't. In his hands, Scott was holding bags of groceries, "We've got a lot of putting away to do."

Summer smiled back at Flynn as the Scotsman went to help the red Ranger with the bags. Summer walked over to the kitchen, with her flowers still in hand. She needed somewhere to put them. Somewhere so that everyone could see them every day and remember that while earth had come to an end, there was still something left to hold onto. Something worth living for.


	36. RJ's Request

Casey knocked on the door gently with a plate of pizza in his hand. It smelt so good to him. It was freshly baked, with love, from RJ… for Lily.

But Casey was happy to deliver it to Lily. That meant he could have a little time to talk with her before he went for his own dinner. Lily didn't eat with the rest of the group. Dinner conversations were a little loud and chaotic for her, with everyone talking at the same time. She could really only handle one on one conversations.

He knew he didn't have to wait for an okay to open the door to her room, so he did just that and stepped inside. He held out the plate.

"Cheetah special," he smiled. He walked in and placed the plate down on the desk beside Lily. He looked at the papers scattered everywhere. Lily was definitely keeping herself busy, but Casey had no idea with what.

Lily looked up at him, "Thank you."

The tiger shoved his hands in his pockets, "I take it you like your bedroom?"

Lily put her pencil down and spun in her chair. She crossed her legs and grabbed the plate. She set it on her lap and started picking at the pizza.

"I do," she nodded, "But I feel kinda bad. Now Fran and Kelly have to sleep with you guys and…"

"Don't feel too bad," Casey laughed. "Our plan for Kelly and Hunter worked. I'm sure she would rather sleep with him than anyone else here."

"I guess," Lily said. "But Fran's okay with it? I mean, now she's stuck in a room with you…"

"How many times do I have to tell you guys? I don't snore!"

Lily nodded her head, though unconvinced, "Yeah, okay, and I don't still get nightmares in the middle of the night."

"How are those?" Casey asked. He hadn't heard her talking to him about them in a few days, and yet he knew she was still having nightmares every night. He felt a little left out, but as long as Lily was happy and safe, he didn't care who she talked to.

"Scary," Lily breathed. She took a real bite from her pizza. "I mean, what nightmare isn't scary? But I'm coping. Alex is usually awake in the middle of the night now, so we talk… and RJ's always checking up on me at, like, four in the morning. I think he's got an alarm set or something."

"So you're okay?"

"Getting there," Lily smiled. "But I think I still want to get some real help. I appreciate everything you guys are doing for me… but it's been almost a month now and I'm still trying to tell myself that I'm safe at home. It just doesn't feel right to me."

"Trust me, we're all trying to find you the help you need," Casey smiled back. He took her hand and looked her in the eyes, "You just take it easy, okay?"

"Thanks, Casey," Lily nodded. She pulled her hand away from him and turned back to her desk. She placed her plate of pizza beside her and went back to work. Casey watched her for a moment before walking out of her room. He bumped into RJ on the way back to the table.

"Did you just go see Lily?" the older man asked.

"Yeah. You gave me her pizza…"

"I just found this invitation outside," RJ said, holding up a piece of paper. "It's from Hunter's ex and those Rangers. They're inviting us to a party."

"Cool," Casey smiled. "So, are you going to go?"

"I'm going to see what Lily thinks," RJ said to the tiger. "If she thinks she'll be ready to leave the house on Monday, with all of us as her escorts. She's met two of the Rangers already, so I hope it won't be bad…"

"I don't know," Casey frowned, shaking his head, "She's not even comfortable with all of us. How are we going to get her to think of us as her safety shield?"

"We need to push her, cub," RJ smiled, gently moving Casey out of his path, "Do you really expect someone to simply step out of their comfort zone?"

"It's called a comfort zone for a reason, RJ. She's not comfortable outside of it."

"We all do things we're not comfortable with, but that's how we discover bravery, courage and confidence. Do you really expect Lily to overcome her fear if you never push her to do the things that scare her?"

"Um…"

"Exactly," RJ nodded. He patted his cub on the shoulder, stepped past him and into Lily's room. "Enjoy the pizza?" he asked the cheetah.

Lily turned around again in her chair and nodded, "I did. Thanks, RJ."

"It was no problem," RJ smiled. "I was making pizzas for everyone else, anyways, and you need to eat."

RJ hid the invitation in his pocket. He was going to wait a little bit before asking her if she felt ready to leave the house. He was hoping to get her feeling a little more comfortable so she would consider the idea. He knew the odds were good that she would immediately decline, but it would be easier to change her mind if she knew she was safe with him.

He approached her at her desk and looked over her shoulder, "What are you doing?"

Lily looked up at RJ, "Just writing."

"Writing what? If I may ask."

Lily reached across her desk, grabbed one of the papers and handed them to RJ. She spun around in her chair as RJ sat on the bed to read what she had written.

"This is the day the Venjix hit," he frowned, quickly glancing up at her before reading more. Lily nodded her head.

"I'm doing a journal," she said. "What I remember from the Venjix attacks… I know it's not exactly the real story… but it's how I remember them now… the dreams, the nightmares, the flashbacks… everything's going in here."

"I think you're pretty spot on," RJ told her with a smile. "The day the Venjix hit was a pretty scary thing. To be honest, I'm surprised you're the only person I've encountered who's mentally suffering from him."

"Thanks, RJ…"

"I don't mean it like that," RJ said. He put the paper down on the bed and reached out for Lily's hand. He held it gently, "I just mean… with everything going on, I thought it would be a more common thing, you know. I figured we'd see people freaking out on the streets. But pretty much everyone seems to be holding it in. But… I think… this is a good idea, Lily."

"I thought so," Lily nodded.

"You could use this to help other people," RJ smiled. "Of course, it's your work, you can do with it as you please, but I know I would like to read the finished version. You'll surely touch on something I can relate to. I'm already moved by the first page."

"Are you saying I should publish it?"

"It's your tale, do what you would like with it, Lily. But you're going through a hard time, and you've got all of us here to support you. There are a lot of people out there suffering just like you, and they don't have anyone to help them. Maybe, when you're back to your old self, you'll want to help those people. Show them that it's okay to feel scared. Write about your own fears and how you overcame them with a little determination and a little support from those around you."

"I might," Lily nodded with a smile. She took the paper back from RJ and set it back down on her desk before she lost it.

RJ took this time to reach for the invitation, "Maybe you can start overcoming your fears now?" he told her. He presented her with the invite, "It's from Hunter's friend and the Rangers. You remember Summer and Flynn, right?"

Lily nodded as she read the paper, "It's a dance…" she shook her head and handed the card back to RJ, "I… I can't do it."

"C'mon, Lily," RJ smiled. "You love to dance. It'll just be you and people who care about you. Nothing's going to happen."

"I just… I'm sorry, RJ, but I can't do it. I don't want to go."

RJ sighed as he got up from the bed. He placed the invitation down on Lily's desk and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, cub, I'll let you think about this a little more before you give me your final answer. But Hunter, Kelly and Alex are going to want to go for sure, and I know Casey, Theo, Dom and Fran will follow them as well. You don't want to be left out, do you?"

"I don't want to go, RJ," Lily said. She grabbed the invite and tossed it on the floor. "I'm not going."

RJ knelt down and picked up the invitation. He presented it to Lily again, "I'm not going to make you go. All I'm asking is that you consider it. You know just as well as I do that there's no danger, and nothing to hurt you. In fact, I think this party is going to be where you'll be safest! You'll have three Rangers in training, their ninja mentor and her five ninja friends. And that's on top of us Jungle Rangers."

"I'm not going," Lily stated firmly with a slight growl in her voice and tears in her eyes. RJ smiled as he handed her the invitation and held both her hands in his. He looked into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

Lily nodded.

"Yeah."

"Then think about it," RJ said before getting up. He kissed her forehead and grabbed the empty pizza plate as he walked out. Lily looked down at the invitation in her hand and sighed. She didn't want to go… she couldn't go. The people, the noise, the stares… it was all too much. Even thinking about it made Lily's heart race, her palm sweet and her breath stop.

But she knew she had to consider it. For RJ. He wanted her to think about it. So, even though she knew it was going to hurt, she was going to take her time with this decision and seriously consider leaving the house.


	37. The Past Comes Back

Hunter placed his hands on Alex' shoulders as he and the young man stood outside a rather tall building. Over the front entrance was a large sign with the words _Corinth Secondary School_ printed in huge letters. Alex gulped and turned to his friend.

"Do I really have to go to school here?" he asked Hunter. "I mean, it's the end of the world… how many…"

"Apparently this school's been up and running for three years now," Hunter interrupted Alex. He pushed the boy forward. "It's got about a hundred students currently attending. Hopefully we can get you started in a few weeks."

"But I can barely walk," Alex said as he pointed to his fake leg. He looked back at Hunter, "How am I supposed to make it to and from my classes."

"Figure it out," Hunter shrugged. "Now come on. Open meeting hours are almost up and if I don't get you in, Kelly's going to kill me."

"About that…"

"Don't distract me," Hunter chuckled while pulling the boy into the school. Alex walked the near empty halls as he and Hunter made their way to the principal's office. As he walked by the classrooms, Alex peeked inside. To his surprise, he saw students sitting in class on a Saturday, of all days!

"I don't like this school," he frowned, grabbing Hunter's arm. He pulled the older man back, "Let's sign up another time… when they don't offer classes on Saturday."

"Relax, buddy," Hunter said. "I'm sure that even if the schedule's different, you'll still get a weekend."

The two stepped into the school's office and were immediately told by the secretary to take a seat. Hunter and Alex sat down and waited for the principal to show up. Alex was nervous. He was playing with his hands and tapping his foot against the ground. Hunter finally had to put his hand on Alex' leg to get him to stop.

"Relax," he laughed, "You'll be fine. They can't exactly deny you an education."

"I don't want to be here," Alex said.

Hunter took a deep breath, "If it's about the amputation…"

"It's not that…" Alex shook his head. "I'm just…. I mean… do I have to start school now? Can't we just wait until next year?"

"Kelly's figured this out for you, buddy," Hunter smiled. "If we enrol you this year, before March, you can still graduate at eighteen like everyone else."

"Seventeen," Alex corrected the Ninja. "My eighteenth birthday won't be until after graduation… in July."

"Whatever. If we wait until September to enrol you, then you'll have to restart your junior year. Which would you prefer? A month off junior year, or redoing it?"

"But I don't think I'm ready to go back to school," Alex whispered. He looked at Hunter, "I'm still having nightmares."

"You too?" Hunter frowned. "I thought Lily…"

"Not nightmares like that," Alex interrupted. "I'm not crazy, I swear… but…"

Hunter shifted slightly in his seat as Alex trailed off. He could tell the boy was nervous talking about his dreams. But Hunter wanted to help.

"If you want to talk… I'm sure we've got time before the principal comes. Just… you know, talk to me about what you see. My sensei always told me that all dreams touch reality. We just need to figure them out."

Alex shifted uncomfortably. He looked down at his hands, "Well…"

"Look, I'm not going to laugh or anything," Hunter assured the boy. "I really do care, Alex."

Alex nodded, "I see Libby."

"Oh," Hunter frowned. He leaned back in his chair, "I see her too… sometimes. I guess my brain doesn't know she's dead, you know…"

"Mine does," Alex sighed. "At first, she was just there… in my dreams. And I didn't think much of it. I mean, I miss her… I guess we all do… but I just thought my mind was just replaying what happened… and Libs… she was there. It's natural, right?"

"Definitely," Hunter nodded his head.

Alex continued, "But then she really started appearing in my dreams… like, she was the main character almost… and I was just watching. It… it stopped being real life and… she would just… she would get close to me… and then… the nightmares started."

"The nightmares?"

"Libby would die," Alex said. "With the Venjix, I mean. He would come, destroy everything, and Libby would die, at first… but then I started saving her… or, tried to save her. I would run to her and try to save her, but I never could."

Hunter nodded slowly, "You're probably just trying to cope with her death. We all should have done something to help her… but we couldn't. Her death was… unexpected."

"But that's not the really weird part," Alex said. "A few nights ago… when I really started hanging out with Lily in the middle of the night… that's when the really bad dreams started."

"Really bad?"

"I couldn't fall asleep after having them," Alex nodded. "I… they weren't bad dreams like death scary, or end of the world scary… but… Libby was dead and… she spoke to me."

"She spoke to you?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah! She said she was stuck. She couldn't find her way and she needs help," Alex turned back to his _"father"._ "She needs me for something, Hunter… I know it."

After he said that, Alex looked away. He was sure Hunter was going to think he was crazy. Libby was dead. There was no way she could need him for anything. There was no way she needed anything.

But Hunter patted him on the back and offered him a smile, "You know what, I'll look into it. Cam's really the genius with all this afterlife stuff. If anyone can figure it out, it's him."

Alex looked up at Hunter, "Wait… you mean… you believe me?"

"Of course I do, bro," Hunter nodded. He leaned in, "I'm practicing being nice, too, and thinking of others. Kelly thinks I have a hard time reading other people and myself… for that matter."

"Really?" Alex asked sarcastically, "Because, with the way you followed your instincts with Kelly, I was sure you were completely in tune with yourself and other people."

Just then the school principal stepped out of his office, letting a mother and daughter head for the exit. He looked at the secretary before calling out: "Alexander Jeffries."

"That's us," Hunter nodded. He helped Alex to his feet, "You ready for this, kid?"

"No… but let's do it."

-Fight-Flight-

With the party less than a day away, Summer and Flynn were running around the Garage trying to get everything set up just right. Tori was rather surprised at how hard they were working. She almost wanted to burst their bubble and call this improvised training, but she decided against it. After all, the teens were really starting to hate that word.

But when Tori turned to look at Scott, she saw he was just sitting on the couch. He wasn't as invested in Valentine's Day as the other two. Tori didn't truly understand the holiday herself, but it was a great opportunity to reconnect with the people she loved, as well as making more friends. After all, Valentine's Day wasn't just for romantics. It was for everybody who loved and was loved. She figured Scott would want to join in, just to be with his new friends. She figured it would be a great bonding opportunity. Flynn and Summer were really getting to know each other, and from the flowers sitting on the table, Tori was starting to believe that there was a deeper connection forming between blue and yellow.

However, something felt off with Scott, and Tori wanted to figure it out before the shields were lowered. She plopped down on the couch beside him and nudged him.

"What's up?" she asked. Scott shrugged his shoulders glumly.

"I remember."

"That's good. I don't know how well an amnesiac would do saving the world."

"I just…" Scott shrugged again, "I've been thinking about him a lot."

"Him who?"

"Marcus," Scott answered. "I'm really starting to miss him."

"Oh… well, what brought him up?" Tori asked. "Why now?"

"Well… it's just… Summer and Flynn… they're getting closer… and it's just… I miss having someone like that, you know…"

"FLYNN!"

Tori turned around when she heard Summer scream. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw her yellow Ranger covered in pink icing and Flynn taking cautious steps back as he pointed to the blender.

Summer growled under her breath as she turned to look at Flynn while wiping the icing from her eyes, "You know this is meant to go on the cupcakes, right?"

"Well… you know… if Ranger Series Yellow doesn't work out… we know Pink would look good…" Flynn chuckled. "Actually… I think it might suit you better than yellow. It's not really your colour."

Summer blinked, very unimpressed, "Oh, really?"

"I don't know… I'm a man… what do I know about colours?"

Suddenly, Summer smiled, but Flynn recognised that look. It was a mischievous smile, like Summer was plotting something in that head of hers.

Summer opened her arms wide, "I'm sorry, Flynn. I shouldn't have gotten so angry. How about we hug and forget this ever happened."

Flynn took a few more steps back, "No way, lass… I know what you're trying to do!"

"C'mon, Flynn," Summer smirked. She took a few steps towards Flynn, slipping a little due to the spilt icing. "Just one hug? It'll make it all better."

"No," Flynn shook his head. Summer got her prey through when she unexpectedly jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Flynn, smearing some of the icing on her blue friend.

"NO!" Flynn cried out, though there was a hint of laughter in his voice as he tried to push Summer away.

Tori looked back at Scott with a smile, "You miss having what they have?"

Scott nodded, "I do."

Tori wrapped her arm around Scott's shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Well… I know it hurts now, but you'll find someone new, I know you will. This may mark the end of the world, but we're still only at the beginning."

"A new brother?" Scott asked, confused. He turned to Tori, "Where will I find a new brother?"

Tori's eyes widened for a moment before she realised her mistake, "Oh, that's what… oh, okay. I've figured this out."

Scott frowned at his mentor, but didn't bother to ask her what she had been thinking. He simply shook his head.

"I always looked up to Marcus," he told Tori. "He was the perfect guy, you know. He was brave, smart, strong… and he always looked out for me. Even when I was in my annoying little brother years, he still put up with me and let me follow him around. He was the perfect brother… and the perfect son."

"Let me guess… your parents loved him and supported him, but they always thought you could do better? They always made you feel like you weren't good enough?"

"My dad," Scott nodded. "Mom passed away a few months after I was born. There were complications and she just… couldn't recover."

"I know where you're coming from," Tori smiled. "My friend… Shane… he kinda felt that way. He never felt like his parents accepted him. And when he finally was doing something they could be proud of… he couldn't tell him. He's got a brother and a sister… both of them are really successful and smart. His sister got me out of a speeding ticket once. She's a lawyer… before your mind starts to wander."

"I guess I'm not the only person to feel this way," Scott sighed. "But… it's just… Flynn's got his dad, you know. He's always telling me about his childhood and how he would be helping his dad in his garage or just… spending time with his dad."

"Yeah, but Flynn's dad never really believed in him. He never supported Flynn's dreams of helping other people. He tried to drive him away from that."

"But still… His dad didn't just… brush him off… When I told dad Marcus was dead… he just… he… he dismissed me… and he's practically been avoiding me ever since."

Tori hugged the red Ranger, "Maybe he's just grieving. People do it in a different way. He shouldn't be pushing you away… he never should have… but some people just have a hard time with stuff like this. Until he comes around, because I know one day he will, you can just lean on us. We all care about you."

"Thanks," Scott smiled.

Tori got up, but before she left she turned back to Scott.

"I had an older sister," she told him. "She passed away when I was fifteen. I used to think she was the most amazing person in the world. She was beautiful, smart, funny… and she taught me how to surf. My world was ripped apart when she died, but I moved on. You just… have to learn how to live with the pain."

"Why did she die?" Scott asked. He felt it was okay to ask this question. After all, Tori wouldn't have told him about her sister if she wasn't ready to share.

"She took me and my other sister to the beach one day," Tori said. "Mom and dad couldn't take us, so she packed our bags and told us we were spending the day together. The three of us got into the water with our surfboards. We figured we'd fill the day with surfing. My little sister went a little too far out and… low and behold, she won the amazing experience of a shark attack. The shark bit her leg and my sister freaked."

"That's terrible," Scott frowned. Tori nodded.

"It was. She only needed stitches, though. A lot of them. But she was still walking around once she recovered. My older sister… she didn't make it."

"What happened?"

"She went to help my little sister. What else could she do? Its instinct, you know. She wanted to try and save my sister… but the shark smelt blood. He came back and Izzy took the fall. She never made it out of the water."

Scott lowered his head, "I'm sorry."

Tori shrugged, "Don't be. With the Venjix, she would probably have been dead either way. The rest of my family probably is," Tori paused for a moment as she gazed at Scott. "So… how did Marcus die?"

"The Venjix. Marcus and I were on the Eagle Squad. He was shot down."

"A brave idiot?"

"Something like that," Scott said, chuckling. "I told him not to… if he had listened to me… he could have made it back."

Tori offered Scott a smile, "I'm really sorry. But… I mean, I'm not saying this to help you feel better. I know it really doesn't, but Marcus… he probably saved hundreds of lives. Your brother… he's a hero."

"So is your sister," Scott smiled back. "Your little sister might be dead now… but it could have been you going after her… against the shark. She protected you too."

"I guess she did," Tori nodded.

"And… if we win… against Venjix, I mean… she will have saved the world… because you trained us."

"Andy will be happy to hear that," Tori chuckled. She waited a moment before speaking again, "Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"Feeling a bit better?"

"I'm okay, I guess," Scott shrugged. Tori reached for the final box of decorations.

"Well, want to help with this?" she asked him. "Before the icing twins get the decorations all sticky?"

Scott nodded and reached into the box as Tori opened it. He pulled out a long streamer of hearts and raised an eyebrow.

"This holiday sickens me."

"Just throw something at the people making out," Tori smirked. "Worked when I was in high school."

"You did that?"

"Yeah. I always blamed Dustin, though. Poor guy got swirlies every Valentine's Day until senior year!"


	38. Valentine's Day

It was rude to attend a party empty handed, even if the hosts insisted they had enough food, at least, that's what Fran thought as she loaded two full grocery bags of chips into the truck. She was really excited for this party. She had never had a date on Valentine's Day, and therefore never really left the house to party. She wasn't really the kind of person who would venture out on her own. At least, not in the real world.

But this year she was going to a party, and she was going to have fun. She wasn't worried about her marital status. Not this year. Valentine's Day was a day to express your love to the people you valued most. Fran was just starting to realise that this never meant you needed someone special. Valentine's Day was for all the people who touched your heart.

And that's how she was going to celebrate.

The boys were excited for the dance as well. It was a chance for them to relax, unwind and befriend some familiar faces.

Hunter and Kelly were also very excited. They didn't see their old group of friends much. They were looking forward to reconnecting, and telling them the big news.

Even Alex seemed a little brighter. Getting out of the house and having fun was something he was looking forward to. With his leg, the task wasn't very easy. He normally only left the house to run errands, such as register for school, and never got the opportunity to hang out with his friends. He didn't have many yet. But with his first day of school fast approaching, things were going to change.

When the truck was loaded up with gifts, games and snacks, RJ made sure everyone piled in. Dominic got behind the wheel and buckled himself in. Fran took shotgun. She claimed that it was only fair a woman sat in the front, and seeing as Kelly was likely to want to sit with Hunter, Fran was the only other option.

Theo grumbled as he jumped into the truck, taking the hump in the middle seat. He was the smallest, and therefore the only person who would fit comfortably in the middle. He groaned louder though when he saw that Hunter and Kelly were going to sit next to him.

Casey was about to jump into the truck and snake his way into the very back seat with Alex when RJ grabbed his pants and pulled him back out. Casey stumbled as his feet hit the floor, but RJ held on, keeping the boy balanced.

"Warn me next time, RJ," Casey laughed as he straightened himself out. RJ pulled Casey away from the truck and signalled for Dom to give him a few minutes.

"Lily trusts you, right?" RJ asked the Tiger. Casey nodded slowly.

"I'd like to think so," he said.

"I've tried getting her to come to this dance, but she keeps telling me she can't," RJ sighed. "Have you tried talking to her?"

"Look, RJ. I don't want to push her," Casey shook his head. "Lily's strong. She'll know when she's ready to face her fears. Until then I think…"

"You and I both know that there's nothing to fear," RJ interrupted. "Lily's got nothing to worry about, and by not pushing her, you'll allowing her to believe that there is something to fear. You're reinforcing the idea that in order to stay safe, she needs to stay home."

Casey crossed his arms, "I'm trying to show her she can trust me, RJ. I'm not going to make her do anything she doesn't want to do."

"So you're going to leave her here alone? Do you really think that's going to…?"

"She'll see us when she gets back and she'll see how much fun we had," Casey shrugged, "Then she's going to wish she came out with us and she'll prepare herself for next time."

"Casey…" RJ sighed. He looked the boy in the eye, "You can't tell me you believe this is the right thing to do."

There was a brief pause before RJ placed his hands on Casey's shoulder.

"Do you trust me, Casey?"

Casey nodded his head, "Of course, RJ."

"And you know that I would never do anything to put you, Theo, or Lily in any kind of danger. I would never do anything to harm you cubs."

"I know…"

"Then why don't you believe me when I tell you you need to push Lily to come to this dance? She'll be more likely to go if we show her that we both want her to come."

Casey sighed, "Alright, RJ. I'll ask her. But I'm not forcing her to come. She has to make the choice."

RJ smiled, "That's what I wanted to hear."

-Fight-Flight-

"Are you sure?" Tori asked as she looked in the mirror. She had asked Summer to help her get ready for the party, and somehow Summer had convinced Tori to pull her hair back and wear a dress that Summer had bought her for this occasion. It wasn't really Tori's style, but Summer insisted Tori looked good.

"Positive," Summer nodded with a smile. "If there's one thing I learned from my past it's how to dress for any occasion. Trust me; Blake's jaw is going to hit the floor when he sees you."

Tori smiled back at her yellow Ranger before the two stepped out of Tori's bedroom. The former blue Ranger rolled her eyes when she saw Flynn and Scott were already digging into the snacks.

"Seriously, guys?" she chuckled. "You can't wait until the guests turn up?"

Scott and Flynn exchanged looks before shaking their heads, "No."

Scott then turned to Tori and Summer and smiled, "Wow, you two look…"

"You look good!" Flynn finished.

Scott nodded, unable to find the words he was looking for as he watched Summer. She looked _really_ good.

"Y-yeah, uh… yeah. I mean… what he said," he stuttered. Flynn turned to his friend and tapped him on the back.

"Well, we can't let such a beautiful lass go to waste," he smirked. He pushed Scott forward, "It is Valentine's Day after all."

Scott turned to Flynn and shook his head, but the blue Ranger wasn't giving up. He pushed Scott forward again.

"C'mon. It's not like it's a commitment. Anyways, tonight is the night for things to happen!"

Scott glared at the blue Ranger. When he went to turn back to Summer, he saw she was already standing right in front of him with a smile. He jumped back slightly.

"Whoa, Summer… you scared me."

"Sorry," Summer laughed. "I just saw you and Flynn were talking and thought I would join."

Flynn nudged Scott as he joined the couple. Scott cursed his blue friend under his breath as he looked at Summer.

"It's Valentine's Day," he smiled to her. "I can't let you attend this party without someone to… party with?"

Summer looked at Flynn and suppressed a laugh before turning back to Scott with a genuine smile.

"Are you asking if I want to be your Valentine?" she asked him.

Scott quickly shook his head, then shrugged, and then nodded and pointed to Flynn, "It was his idea… last minute kinda… I mean… only if you…"

Summer took Scott's hand, "I would love to," she interrupted him. Scott blushed. Somehow, that had worked.

-Fight-Flight-

Following RJ's advice, Casey rushed back into the loft and knocked on Lily's door. He didn't have to wait for a response before walking in. Lily was sitting at her desk, working away on the same project as always, but she stopped and turned to Casey when she heard him coming in.

"If you're going to ask me to come to the party…"

"I think it's a good idea," Casey told her.

"Casey, the people, the music… the… not here…"

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Lily," Casey assured her. "It's just a dance. You know, a bunch of friends getting together on Valentine's Day to have fun! No one's going to hurt you."

Lily lowered her head, "I know…"

"So then why won't you come?" Casey asked her. "Why can't you just face your fears?"

"Why were you scared of monsters in your closest until you were eighteen?" Lily bit back. How dare Casey question her fears.

"Because I was never brave enough to face my fears," Casey answered, hoping that by keeping calm, Lily wouldn't freak out or get angry with him. It was easy to agitate her. She was still constantly on high alert and all that stress played with her emotions. "I guess…"

Casey had to stop and think as he realised what RJ was trying to say. Lily needed to face her fears before they grew bigger; before they turned into demons. If she let them sit and didn't do anything to face them, they were just going to get worse and worse and she would never feel ready to overcome them.

"I guess," Casey continued, "I left it until too late. If I had opened my closet when I was a kid, I would have had that stupid fear. But the longer I left it, the more I nurtured it and… it just didn't want to go away anymore… and I was comfortable living with it. Do you want to live like that, Lily?"

Lily shook her head before looking down at her hands. She fiddled with the pencil as she listened to what Casey was telling her. He walked in closer and knelt down so he could look up at her.

"You're my friend, Lil. I would never do anything that would make you uncomfortable. But I would also hate to watch you destroy yourself like this. You're stronger than this, Lil, I know you are. Why can't you just prove it to yourself and the rest of the world?"

"I don't know."

"Are you really going to let this thing beat you?" Casey took her hand, "Are you going to let it control you for the rest of your life? You are being haunted by the Venjix… but you're letting it. He is following you, everywhere you go, because you're keeping him in the back of your mind. Fight it, Lil. Take control."

Tears started to form in Lily's eyes. She shook her head.

"I can't, Casey…"

"Yes you can," Casey encouraged her. He squeezed her hand gently, "You can do it. And when you start to struggle, if Venjix does become too much, you have the rest of us here to back you up. This is your fight Lil, you have to take charge, but you're never going to be alone."

Casey stood up over Lily confidently. He looked down at her for a moment before softly placing his hand under her chin and tilting her head upwards so she was looking up at him.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" he asked her.

Lily wiped her tears and smiled, "Okay… but you have to…"

"If things get to tough, you can count on me to save you," Casey smiled. He took her hand and helped her out of her seat.

Lily leaned into Casey as the two walked to the truck. Lily could feel the looks burning into her as Casey and RJ helped her into the back.

Dom looked into the rear-view mirror, "Hey, Lil, didn't think you were tagging along."

"Welcome back," Fran smiled as Kelly reached out and placed a comforting hand on Lily's arm.

"Ready to have fun?" RJ asked his cub. Lily chuckled and nodded.

"It's not a dance without me."

-Fight-Flight-

"… And then, the horse said, 'whoa! A talking duck'!" Fran laughed at her own joke. The party was well underway, and had been for about an hour now. Everyone was enjoying themselves. People were getting together, friends were reconnecting and new friendships were being made. Already, everyone knew this party was an amazing success.

The bookworm looked at her audience as she continued to laugh, "Do you guys get it?" she chuckled. "It's a talking horse… and he's… because he's surprised the duck can talk!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes. She always cracked herself up with that joke. But her audience, which consisted of Theo, Shane, Dom and Dustin, didn't find the joke funny.

But a quick nudge and glare from Shane told everyone to laugh anyways.

"Ha-ha… ha, ha… wow, Fran," Shane forced a laugh for Fran's sake, as did the other three boys. "That one's pretty good."

Fran was beaming with confidence and pride. She was completely oblivious to the world around her. She didn't even notice as Theo, Dom and Dustin inched away from the conversation, "Well, if you think that one was funny just wait until I tell you about the two walls!"

"Oh?" Shane asked. He took another sip from his drink. He needed it.

"Yeah," Fran nodded. "Okay, so, what did one wall say to the other?"

Before he could answer, Shane found his saving grace in the form of Tori and Blake. As they walked by, Shane grabbed Fran by the shoulders and spun her around.

"Hey, you know who loves wall jokes?" he said. "Tori and Blake! It kills them every time! Why don't you tell them?"

Fran wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "Oh, I don't think I want to bother them. Flynn was telling me about how they finally got together. They might like some time alone."

She turned back around, "So, Shane. What did one wall say to the other?"

"Drink?" Shane offered his glass to the bookworm.

A few feet away, just out of earshot for Fran, Shane, and all the other guests at the party, Blake and Tori were hanging out together. They didn't really know what they wanted to do. They were an old-new couple. Were they ready to introduce themselves as _Tori and Blake_, or were they still just Tori and Blake? They didn't know if they wanted to be holding hands, or standing close. They didn't know if they were supposed to be the senior couple, the one with the most experience, or if they were just as new as Kelly and Hunter.

Awkwardly, Blake reached for Tori's hand and took it in his. He looked at her and smiled.

"You look beautiful," he told her. Tori blushed and looked away. She was still a little uncomfortable in a dress. Last time she wore one was when at her wedding, and that had also been the first time. She was okay in skirts, but that was special occasions.

Her hair was also done up differently. While it was simply pulled back, Tori never would have considered styling it this way. Normally she left it down and straight, and for special events she would curl it. But Summer had a vision, and there was no denying her visions.

"Thanks. You look nice too."

"I mean it, Tor," Blake smiled. He leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, the room erupted with cheers. Both Blue Rangers blushed when they realised they were being watched.

"First official kiss of the night!" Shane called. He held up his drink, "Who's next?"

All eyes, minus Tori and Blake who were red from the incident, turned to Kelly and Hunter.

Hunter shook his head, "No. C'mon! That's so mean! This is our first date!"

Kelly frowned as she looked up at Hunter.

Dustin decided to join this game. After all, this was a Valentine's Day dance. There had to be some love.

But Hunter continued to refuse and Kelly gave him a funny look. It was just a kiss.

"Hunter…"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the room chanted with the exception of Alex. He hid his eyes in Dustin's shirt.

"This is so gross…"

"Fine!" Hunter sighed. He leaned over and gave Kelly a quick peck. He looked back at the room, "Happy?"

"Meh," Dom's hand wavered in the air before he turned to Scott and Summer, the two Valentine's of the night. "Kiss!"

Scott rolled his eyes; he was ready to fight off the peer pressure, but Summer leaned in closer and kissed his cheek. Scott blushed and looked at the girl in yellow.

"Really?"

"Valentine," Summer chuckled.

Dominic went to turn the spotlight on the other couple of the night, but quickly decided against it. Lily was still a little nervous about being at the party. He understood that it was probably for the best that he didn't shower her with unneeded attention.

"Well, that's all the kissing I can handle," he said. "When's dinner?"

"What's for dinner?" Alex asked. "Pizza?"

"All you eat is pizza," Theo chuckled.

"Your point?" Alex smirked.

Over by the couches, Hunter rolled his eyes at Alex' request for pizza before he turned to Kelly. He smiled at her.

"What are we going to do with that kid?"

Kelly shrugged her shoulder, "I… I don't know."

Hunter noticed her hesitation. It wasn't like her. Something was up.

"Hey," he frowned. "What's the matter?"

Kelly swirled the drink in her hand before downing it, "I'm just rethinking something."

"Do I need to worry?" Hunter asked. Kelly shook her head.

"Not yet," she looked at him, "I'll go help Tori and Fran get started on dinner. Go have fun."

Kelly hurried over to the kitchen, where Fran and Tori were already trying to figure out how to cook and plate all the meals for the party guests. The moment she arrived in the kitchenette, she grabbed the wine and poured herself another glass, filing it up to the top.

"Drinkers don't touch anything that can cause a fire, explode, or blow people up," Tori stated as a warning when she saw Kelly drinking from her glass like there was no tomorrow (though that was a huge possibility considering the shields were not longer going to be fully powered). Tori grabbed a pan with mini pizzas, but before placing it in the oven she turned to Kelly, "Um… and that includes the fridge. Dr. K's a little… paranoid."

"I heard that!"

"I know!" Tori smiled to the distorted voice.

Fran looked to Kelly, "What's wrong?"

"Did I jump into something that just… wasn't going to work?"

"I told you, the dress looks fine," Fran said. Kelly shook her head.

"I… I mean, with Hunter. Was it too soon? Was it too easy?"

Tori rolled her eyes as she looked at her best friend, "Oh boy…"

"I mean, I just forgave him. After everything."

"Don't forget," Tori said, "you love him. That's why you did it."

"Well…" Kelly looked back at Hunter. He seemed to be enjoying himself with the guys. She turned to Tori and Fran, "I know that. I know how I feel for him… but… am I just his rebound?"

"What do you mean?" Fran asked.

Kelly shrugged, "Never mind. I guess it doesn't matter. I mean, I'm stuck with him and Alex. Might as well just take what I have."

Tori looked at Fran as Kelly finished off her glass and poured herself another.

"Here we go again," Tori mouthed.

"You don't live with them," Fran mouthed back. Tori stuck out her tongue. For the first time, she was happy she was a prisoner. It meant she didn't have to put up with this.

"AH! Flynn!" Summer cried out from the other side of the room. Tori groaned loudly. She did have three teenagers though.


	39. Unwanted Visitors

Casey placed his hand on the small of Lily's back, causing her to turn and face him. He shot her a smile before pointing to the guys.

"I'm going to hang out with them for a little bit," he said. "Are you going to come?"

Lily looked at the guys. As the night progressed they had gotten louder and louder, and more into the party spirit. She shook her head.

"No… you can go."

Casey smiled again, "I'll keep an eye on you, don't worry," he told her before leaving. Lily gave him an uncomfortable look as he walked away. She wasn't sure what to do with herself anymore. She played with the drink in her hand. Non-alcoholic; RJ's orders. The last thing she needed in her system was alcohol.

She heard someone dragging a chair over and placing it beside her. She turned to look and saw Flynn had come to keep her company.

"Hey," he said in his Scottish accent. Lily gave him a quick smile before going back to her drink. Flynn knew if he was going to have a conversation, he was going to have to support it. He gently nudged her to get her attention again, "I just wanted to say no hard feelings about the whole crazy animal thing."

"Thanks," Lily whispered. "I am sorry. I just freaked out and she… came out."

"Don't worry about it," Flynn said. "It used to happen to me all the time when I was a wee lad. Well, maybe not the whole cheetah part, but…"

"Being chased?" Lily frowned. She turned to Flynn. He nodded.

"Yeah. Chased, pushed, kicked. I was a bit of a loser. The school's wannabe hero!"

"Well, you are now," Lily said. "If any of those kids saw you today, they would think twice about picking on you."

"They didn't pick on me," Flynn corrected her. "They picked on other kids. I tried to stand up for them… you know, like the good guys do, and then I would be picked on… by the victim!"

"Odd," Lily let out a small chuckle.

Flynn laughed as well, "Yeah. You know you haven't made it when people would rather be called dirt than saved by you."

"So… what made you want to be a Ranger?" Lily asked. "I mean, if kids were always picking on you and punishing you for trying to help them… what's kept you going?"

"I don't want to give up on those people," Flynn answered. "Everyone deserves to be saved. A real hero doesn't stop doing what's right just because a few people broke his arm, pushed dirt up their nose or pulled their kilt down in the middle of the schoolyard."

"Fun times," Lily muttered. She pat Flynn on the back, "But… good for you. I used to be a bit of an optimist too. I once accidentally helped the bad guy unleash an overlord just because I thought there was a little bit of good inside her. Turns out, I was right… but at the time, you know…"

Flynn nodded, "My dad always says, 'No good deed goes unpunished'. Maybe he's right. But I want to show him the real reason people do good."

"Because it helps other people," Lily smiled. Flynn smiled back and nodded his head again.

"Yeah," he looked at Lily. She was the first person he had ever met who seemed to understand exactly what he was feeling. Why he wanted to be a hero, and why he persisted on trying to help other people, even when they treated him like dirt.

RJ approached the group, breaking up the conversation. He looked at Lily.

"We're about to play a game. Fran wants to know if you'll be on her team."

Lily looked at the big group of people all gathering together around the table. She shook her head. He was lucky enough that she was here in the garage, there was no way anyone was going to get her to join the large group. Not until she was ready.

RJ sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder. Flynn stood up.

"I'll play," he said. He rushed over to the table, "Move over, everyone! Flynn's coming to win!"

Casey looked over when he saw Flynn arriving, but not Lily. He smiled at his yellow friend, but Lily shook her head again, telling him she refused to come over and join the big group. Casey was about to get up, but RJ held a hand up, indicating that he had things under control. Casey took his seat again and turned his focus back on the game.

RJ sat next to Lily and wrapped his arm around her, "Are you sure you want to miss out?" he asked.

"I'm fine right here," Lily nodded. She turned to RJ and noticed his worried look, "Seriously, it's okay."

RJ didn't seem convinced, "Lily, there's nothing to worry about. We're all your friends. Everyone's worried about you. They've been asking all night."

"And it's not them I'm scared of, RJ," Lily groaned. She got out of her seat, "Look, this thing is hard enough to live with. I don't need you, or anyone else, telling me how to live my life."

"Lily," RJ stood up as well and tried to reach out to her, but Lily pulled back. He settled on watching her, "Lily, you need to take care of this thing before you let it swallow you up. You're bigger than this thing. I know you can…"

"You don't even know what this thing is!" Lily shouted. All eyes turned to her as the game fell silent. "You, Casey, everyone… this has always just been a thing to you! A setback! I'll get over it! All I need is a good push! I don't want it! I just want to get help, get better, and get on with my life!"

"Lily…"

"Stop it, RJ!" Lily screamed. "You don't get it! You just don't okay."

"Lily, calm down," RJ sad softly. He couldn't blame her nerves for shaking her up like this. The garage was crowded with people and her fears were everywhere around her. He was actually proud she had made it this long before freaking out. But she needed to remain calm. If she ran away now, everything would be ruined.

"I can't!" Lily shouted. She pushed RJ away before running off. She was unsure of where to go, but she needed to get away. She picked one door at random and hurried inside. It sealed behind her, keeping the others out.

Scott walked up behind RJ nervously, "Um… that's the lab," he told the violet Ranger. RJ frowned as he turned to Scott, and then back to the lab doors.

"What's inside the lab?" he asked.

"Basically," Scott scratched the back of his head.

Tori took over for the red Ranger, "You know how you told her there was nothing to worry about. She's safe here with us, blah, blah, blah."

"Yeah," RJ nodded. Tori bit her lip.

"You just lied."

RJ's eyes widened before they met Casey's. The boys exchanged very worried glances. Casey was about to get up, but RJ held his hand up again. He had caused her freak out; he was going to take care of it.

Tori walked over to the couches and picked up her jacket. She reached into the pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a key card. RJ followed her as she walked to the door.

"Should we go back to playing?" Hunter offered to the people gathered around the table. They turned to him with a funny look. He shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, just keep everything calm and normal for when she comes out."

"That's probably a good idea," Cam nodded. Hunter smiled and reached for the pack of cards in the middle of the board. He took the first one and looked at it before turning to Kelly.

"Partners?" he asked her. Kelly looked at him quickly.

"I guess," she said.

Hunter smiled before reading the card, "Okay, I wear diapers and I shoot arrows. C'mon, Kelly, you should know…"

"Cupid," Kelly frowned. She checked the cover of the box that held the game and saw it was for children six and up. She rolled her eyes, "Oh, this is going to be a long night…"

Over by the lab door, Tori tried swiping her card again, but it wasn't working. The doors wouldn't open. She frowned and looked up at the closest computer screen.

"Dr. K, can you please override whatever you just did?" she pleaded the doctor, but there was no reply. She frowned again, tried her card, but it still didn't work. "Really, doc, I know you can hear me!"

"I do not wish to participate in your party games," Dr. K said.

"Doc, you left the door unlocked and it…"

"I know I left it unlocked," Dr. K interrupted. "I was just about to call you inside."

"Then let me in," Tori frowned.

"I cannot."

"Oh boy…" Tori groaned. She hit her fist against the door before getting an idea. "That's it. Flynn, I'm borrowing your car."

"Got it!" Dr. K called, and the doors slid open. Tori smirked.

"I knew that would…"

"There's no time for that, Miss Hanson," Dr. K interrupted once again. "Come inside, quickly. Rangers Series Red, Blue, and Yellow, I'm requesting your presence inside the lab as well."

Flynn, Scott and Summer dropped their game cards and got up from the table. Flynn bounced slightly.

"We're going to see the lab!" he sang, "We're going to see the lab!"

Kelly threw her cards down as well, "Looks like it's game over," she called as she got up from her seat. "If the Rangers are needed, I'm headed home."

Fran gave Kelly a sympathetic look. She knew why her older friend wanted to leave. Kelly had been a little down since they started making dinner.

"We can't go!" Alex whined. "We're still having fun!"

"I'm going," Kelly said. She grabbed her stuff, "Hunter can take you home. Don't stay here too late."

"I think I'll go with her," Fran said as she too got up and grabbed her things. She walked beside Kelly as the red head walked off, "You okay?" she whispered.

Kelly shrugged, "It's just too hard to think, you know?" she whispered back.

The two women stopped when they were outside. They were going to have to walk home, considering most of their group was still at the party, having a good time, or so it seemed. Kelly threw her jacket on when they reached the sidewalk and looked at Fran, "Is it weird he didn't want to kiss me?"

"I don't know," Fran answered. "I haven't exactly been on a date, you know. But maybe Hunter's just… not the kinda guy who's comfortable with PDA."

"You didn't see him and Tori together," Kelly sighed. "That was… definitely something you didn't want to see."

"Glad I missed it, then," Fran chuckled. She touched Kelly's arm, "Look, this thing is still new for him. Maybe give him a little time to warm up to the relationship."

Kelly nodded. After all, it couldn't hurt to listen to Fran.

"Okay."

-Fight-Flight-

Tori, RJ and the Rangers rushed inside the lab before the doors closed again. RJ quickly spotted Lily in the middle of the room, staring at the computer which seemed to be working all on its own. There was no one sitting in the chair and yet, somehow, folder after folder and file after file continued to pop up and down. To make matters worse, the mouse on the desk was also moving on its own.

The Wolf Ranger rushed over to Lily and wrapped her in his arms, giving her a place to hide. He couldn't tell her to be brave right now. He was a little crept out himself. And he could understand her fears. Technology, especially computers, was really something to be afraid of right now thanks to the Venjix.

"Shh," he whispered into her ear as he held her close. "Shh. It's okay."

Tori took a seat at the computer and Scott stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. Flynn and Summer were mesmerized by the _spandex_ suits on the far wall.

"Scott was right," Flynn breathed, "Black and green!"

"There are no skirts," Summer frowned. She turned to the computer, "You're kidding me, right Dr. K. When Tori leaves… am I going to be the only girl?"

Tori couldn't help but chuckle. She knew what it felt like. The only girl she ever had to talk to during her Ranger years was Kelly, and Kelly had no idea Tori was a Ranger.

"You poor thing," she laughed.

"Miss Hanson and Ranger Series Yellow, this is a serious problem," Dr. K stated flatly over the intercom. Lily jumped and buried herself deeper into RJ's arms. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"It's okay," he whispered to her.

"What is it, doc?" Scott asked.

"Venjix knows the shields are being lowered," Dr. K said. "He's got an army waiting for us just outside the perimeters of Corinth city. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think he plans on attacking at our weakest moment."

RJ's eyes widened as he felt Lily trying to run away. He held onto her tight, even when she nearly knocked him to the floor.

"We'll be fine," he whispered. "The Rangers know what they're doing."

He looked at the Rangers, "Please tell her you know what you're doing."

Flynn shrugged. He couldn't really answer. The biggest threat he had faced was Lily. Venjix was a whole different matter.

"We know what we're doing," Tori said confidently. She didn't want to say this in front of RJ or Lily, but it was urgent, "Dr. K, you have to get the Colonel to give me my morpher back."

"I can't do that Miss…"

"Am I really that big a threat?" Tori growled, slamming her fists down on the keyboard. "Give me my damn morpher, Dr. K, or you might not have a city to protect from me!"

RJ and Lily both stopped what they were doing. For a moment, Lily seemed calm as the two turned to Tori. RJ continued to hold Lily as he asked Tori.

"You have a morpher?"

Tori was frustrated, "How the hell do you think I wound up with these Rangers?" she shouted before catching herself. "Sorry… I just… yes."

Lily could only blink and stare as the revelation sunk in. RJ quickly snapped out of his shock. He let go of Lily and rushed beside Tori to the computers. Lily stood, feeling very alone and scared, but she trusted RJ was going to come back.

The man looked up, "Dr. K, how long would it take you to create a morpher when there is already a power source established?"

"That would depend on the power source," Dr. K answered him. Tori frowned as she looked at RJ. There was no way she was going to let him fight the Venjix, even if he was Pai Zhuq.

"Wait," Flynn said. He looked from RJ to Lily, "Are you talking about your animal spirits?"

"Our morphers were destroyed in the first Venjix attack," RJ nodded. He turned back to Lily and pulled her in closer, noting her fearful looks. "But the morphers didn't contain our Ranger powers; they simply transferred our animal spirits into the span…"

"Tights," Tori corrected RJ before Lily really had something to fear.

"Whatever," RJ said. He looked back at Dr. K, "Do you think you could create a few Ranger suits with my help? I might still remember how I created my own morpher."

"You made that?" Lily asked. "I thought you like ran into some mystic being or something… or like, you discovered your morpher after that whole werewolf phase."

"That's another story," RJ chuckled.

Tori stood up from her chair. She looked at RJ and Lily.

"Okay… let me get this straight… everyone here is a Power Ranger?"

"RPM," Scott nodded as he motioned to himself and his team. He also motioned to Tori, "Blue Ninja Ranger."

"Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger," RJ said. He looked at Lily, "She's the Yellow Jungle Ranger."

Tori took a deep breath, "Anymore secrets, guys?"

"Wait a minute," Summer frowned. "If you kung fu guys all have animal spirits, does that mean you were all Rangers?"

"Um, not Fran," RJ nodded. "But yes. Casey, Theo and Dominic are Rangers as well. Red, Blue and White respective…"

RJ looked to Tori, "Hunter, Kelly and Alex."

"Hunter yes," Tori nodded. "Shane, Dustin, Blake and Cam, yes. Kelly and Alex, no."

"This Ranger reunion thing is nice and all," Scott started as he stepped forward, "But we've got a giant computer virus and his army knocking at our door and we need a way to keep him from destroying the only surviving city on our planet. Does anyone have any ideas?"

RJ turned to Dr. K's screen, "Doc?"

"I may be able to get Miss Hanson's morpher back from the Colonel for this occasion," the doctor answered. "As for creating two new morphers, we'll have to see how long it takes. It took years to develop the Ranger technology for the RPM series."

"It took me only a few weeks to create my morpher," RJ smirked and cocked an eyebrow. He could see Dr. K's screen tint red slightly.

"I should have two done in a few hours for yourself and Jungle Yellow," Dr. K stated, "But anymore than that might be pushing it."

"Me?" Lily gulped. She wasn't sure about this.

RJ squeezed her gently, "You'll be fine."


	40. The Mission

Dustin looked at the lab door, completely distracted from the game on the table. Blake nudged his friend.

"Your turn, bro," he said.

Dustin grabbed a card, took a quick glance, and then looked at Shane.

"Pear."

"Heart-shaped candies!" the red Ranger smiled and all jaws dropped.

"How did you…" Theo frowned. Shane grinned.

"I know my friend," he answered proudly. The grin refused to wipe off his face as he gave himself and Dustin their points for this round. But when he looked up to give his friend a congratulatory high-five, he noticed Dustin wasn't paying attention to the game, but to the doors.

Dustin finally spoke, before Shane could ask, "They've been in there a while, dudes. Do you think they're okay?"

"It's probably just Dr. K being all 'Grr, I hate parties and people. Grr…'" Blake did his best to imitate what he believed Dr. K sounded like. It wasn't spot on, but it made the crowd around him laugh.

Dustin wasn't the only one to worry about what was going on on the other side of the door. The Jungles were equally concerned. A part of them were comforted by the fact that Dr. K needed Tori and the Rangers inside before Lily freaked, but they couldn't help worry about Lily. Maybe it was still her they were trying to deal with.

Spotting the distant looks, Hunter decided to call it quits on the game. Dustin wasn't paying attention and the Kung-Fu kittens were distracted. His partner had left and Fran was gone as well. As far as he was concerned the game was done. He tossed his cards on the table and looked around. He frowned when he noticed that even Alex seemed to be somewhere else in his mind. It didn't take long for him to realise what was bothering his young friend. He remembered the promise he made to Alex and turned to Cam.

"Yo, Cam," he called, grabbing the Green Ranger's attention, "What do you know about recurrent dreams?"

"Only what my father told me," Cam said. "Many of them hold messages. You need to pay close attention to them."

Alex chimed in, "What about recurrent dreams about… you know… dead people?"

Cam furrowed his brows, "Well… um, that could just be from the Venjix, you know?" Cam said, feeling like he was contradicting himself. "But… who are you talking about? Your parents? Brother or sister or…"

"Libby," Alex answered. He cast a quick glance at Hunter before continuing, "My old co-worker and one of my best friends. You remember she was at Ninja Ops when she died."

Cam nodded his head, "I do remember. You know, though, Libby's probably more at peace than we are," he smiled. "All life that ends on Ninja Grounds returns to the Cavern of Lost Souls. It sounds dark and a little lonely, but once you get past the ghouls and deep into the cave, it's really a peaceful place. My father would be resting there as well."

Something struck Shane as odd about Cam's "theory". He knew for a fact that all life that died did go to the Cavern of Lost Souls, but the Cavern was a World-Portal to a spirit world, so to speak. It, like everything else that was sacred to this world, was most likely destroyed by the Venjix. If so, the spirits inside would need to find another place to rest, or another way to get to their afterlife, so as to live in peace.

"Hey, Cam," Shane frowned, "Wouldn't the Cavern be… you know… gone?"

"Why?" Cam asked before it clicked for him. He hit himself in the head, "Venjix…"

Hunter nudged Alex, telling him to continue with his story. Alex hadn't gotten to the most important part yet, and this moment seemed like the time to tell Cam.

"Libby's been talking to me," Alex said. "But it's not like… you know, back and forth conversation. It's more like… um… She's been telling me she's lost. She doesn't know where to go."

Cam nodded his head slowly. He wished he could give the boy an answer; some peace of mind. But there was really nothing he could say at this point. It was almost impossible to tell if Libby actually was coming to him in his dreams, of if it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Alex wasn't a trained Ninja. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a vision and a simple dream.

Neither could many ninjas, for that matter, but there was still a different level of disturbance most could pick up and use as a reference for important dreams.

So, he gave the only advice he could, "Just… next time you get that same dream, or next time you see Libby, talk to her. Ask her direct questions about what she needs and why she needs help. She may give you cryptic answers but remember them. We can help you figure out what she means."

"What do _you_ mean?" Alex frowned. "Is Libby… is she okay?"

"The best answer I can give you is… I don't know."

Before Alex could ask any more questions, the doors to the lab opened up after a few long hours and Tori, RJ, Lily and the Rangers stepped out. Everyone turned to them, curious to see what had been going on inside the secret lab.

Almost immediately, Casey, Theo and Dominic picked up on the strange devices in Tori, RJ and Lily's hands.

RJ held up the device, as if he knew a question was coming. He smiled, "You guys are not going to believe this!"

Worried, Casey got to his feet, "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the device in Lily's hand.

"It's a morpher!"

"A… what?" the boys all asked, equally shocked, but for different reasons. The Ninjas were surprised Tori got her morpher back, and that RJ and Lily would be presented with morphers. The Jungles were surprised that Tori had a morpher, and that RJ would let Lily have another one. They weren't concerned about RJ holding a morpher. He tended to pop them out at the most random times.

"The Venjix army is at our door," Tori explained. "We'll tell you everything when we get back, but we have to go."

Casey shook his head, "No… you can't go out and fight Venjix with…"

"Casey, it's okay."

"It's okay?" Theo asked. He was just as much against this as Casey was. "RJ, I'm not liking what I'm seeing, and what I'm seeing is you dragging Lily off into the wastelands to fight the Venjix."

"Exactly," RJ smirked.

The boys sitting around the table all let their jaws drop. They didn't need to know how bad Lily's post-traumatic stress disorder was to know this was a bad idea.

"RJ…"

"Dr. K only had enough time to make two morphers," RJ said. "She insisted on using the two animal spirits already in the room. For what's its worth, I have a feeling this will make or break Lily's fears."

"You're telling me," Dom muttered.

Tori stepped in, "If it helps, Lily has agreed to this on her own, without pressure from RJ or the rest of us."

"Maybe a little from the doc," Flynn frowned as he scratched his head.

"It's not even going to be a full on battle," Scott added, hoping to ease the mind of the worried friends. "To get the shields to a regular daily setting, and turn off the supercharge, we need to turn them off and then slowly turn them back on again. For about half an hour, Corinth is going to be vulnerable to whatever's out in the Wastelands. Venjix knows this and he's sent an army to wait for that moment."

"So don't lower the shield," Theo said. It was logical. This was the last known city on earth. Why would anyone want to put it at risk?

"Keeping the shields supercharged has only been a precaution," Tori explained, "The dome isn't able to hold the supercharged shields for two long. If we don't shut them down soon, they'll shut down on their own. This way we have some control."

She turned to Casey, realising he was going to be the one to convince. Not only did she know that he cared a great deal for Lily, her well-being and her safety, but she now knew that he was the Red Ranger of his team. It was his responsibility to make sure the team was safe at all times.

She touched his arm, "Look, Casey, there are six of us going out there. That's a full Ranger team already. If Lily can't handle the battle, she can easily hide behind the rest of the team. The shields will be back up half an hour after they fall, and we need to be back inside the dome ten minutes before that happens."

"So you're calculating about twenty minutes of battle time?" Cam asked.

Tori nodded, "About, yeah."

Casey looked to Lily, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No," Lily shook her head, but when she saw Casey take a step closer to her and try to persuade her not to go, she spoke up, "But I have to. It's like RJ said, this could make or break my fears. If I go out there myself and live through the Venjix… maybe… you know… I'll have a better idea of what's out there, and how powerful they are and…"

She turned to the RPM team, "I'll have a better idea of how prepared we are to handle the Venjix."

"Nothing's scarier than not knowing," Scott nodded.

Casey was reluctant to agree. In fact, he was about to disagree, but he felt Dom's hand fall on his shoulder. He turned to his blond friend with a frown as the rhino spoke up.

"You guys thought this through?" he asked. The Rangers nodded. Dominic looked to Lily, "You thought this through? You know the odds that this makes your fears worse are much bigger than…"

"I know, Dom," Lily nodded. "I'm kind of hoping that if I do freak out… I'll… you know, unleash my cheetah on the robots and she'll take care of them for me."

"I'm kind of hoping for that too," Flynn laughed. "That's one cheetah I never want to mess with."

"Okay," Dom smiled. He reached out to hug Lily, "If you're sure. Good luck."

Casey glared at RJ, "You better take care of her."

"With my life."

"Dr. K wants you guys in the lab," Tori told the boys. "She wants to keep you guys all in one place while she's busy helping us in battle."

"But don't touch her stuff," Scott warned the boys. He then pointed to Flynn's truck, "Our ride?"

"Oh yeah!" Flynn smirked as he pulled the keys from his pocket.

As the Rangers parted from the boys and headed to the truck, Lily looked at Summer. Under her breath, just loud enough for her fellow yellow to hear, she whispered, "I'm scared."

Summer looked up at her predecessor before taking her hand and offering her a comforting smile.

"I'm scared too," she said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm kind of scared of the Venjix too."

Lily gave Summer a curious look, asking her to elaborate. Summer was happy to. She continued to smile.

"He is a pretty scary guy… machine… thing," she nodded. "But we're only going out there for a few minutes, really. We're going to be okay. Well, I hope we are."

"You're scared too?" Lily asked.

Summer nodded once again, "Terrified. I'm not really a childhood superhero or a military kid. I don't know what I'm doing out there and I don't really know what I'm up against."

"You're scared?" Lily asked again. Summer gave her a funny look.

"Are you broken?"

Lily chuckled and hugged Summer. It was nice hearing that she wasn't the only one truly scared. Her friends had told her that the Venjix had scared them, but they never really referenced their current fears. They never really talked to Lily about how the Venjix was making them feel now. She was starting to think she was the only one still truly afraid of the Venjix. For some reason, this made Lily feel much better. She wasn't alone.

The Rangers climbed into Flynn's truck, squeezing themselves into their seats. Thankfully, there was just enough room for all of them to fit comfortably.

Scott placed himself beside Summer in the middle row. He had seen Summer and Lily talking on the way to the truck, and couldn't help but notice Summer easing Lily's fears.

"You did a good job," he whispered to Summer so no one else would hear. Summer frowned and turned to him, confused.

"What?"

"With Lily. What did you say?"

"I… just… I…" Summer quickly glanced at Lily in the back before turning to Scott. She shrugged, "I just talked with her. She told me she was scared and… I just told her I was scared to. I don't know. It just felt right."

"I guess you're just a natural at this helping thing, then," Scott chuckled before wrapping an arm around Summer's shoulders, "And to think, I believed you when you told us you used to be a spoiled, self-centered bitch."

"I was!" Summer laughed as she gently punched him in the chest.

"Yeah, and I was king of the world."

"I don't believe that. If you were king, my parents would have wanted me to marry…" Summer suddenly pulled away. "Never mind. So King of the world?"

"I used to pretend," Scott laughed.


	41. Tackling the Issue

_It's called flooding. It's kind of a stupid idea really. You know, like if someone fears something, you expose them to it until they either overcome their fear or die. Say, for instance, someone is afraid of… I don't know… wolves. To help them get over that fear, you literally throw them to the wolves and wait to see how they respond. As you probably guess, it's one of the stupidest gambles you can make, but I guess the payoff is pretty good if you win._

In her bedroom, Lily tapped her chin with the pencil. She had been through a long day of fighting the Venjix and after all that she needed a way to express her emotions. RJ had played with fire when he took her along with the Venjix, but she pulled through, somehow.

_For me, the flooding consisted of throwing me out into the wastelands, where no human is expected to survive, and I was supposed to defend the city from evil man-killing robots. You know, the ones who have already completely destroyed the world save for one city. Corinth. My flooding was thirty or forty minutes of "I hope you live" time._

_Basically this is how it happened. After we drove away from the garage, we went straight out to the wastelands. Pretty fun… you know, dead things, dead people… it's just death lurking around everywhere._

_Anyways, turns out, Dr. K was right. Venjix did have an army waiting at our door. RJ made a Halloween joke when we finally encountered them. I didn't find it funny. Nothing was really funny to me. I was trying to keep myself from having another panic attack. But before we met up with them, Tori gave us a pep talk. She explained to the Rangers, RJ and me what we were going to be facing. She told us about Grinders and reminded us that every bad guy tends to have what she calls Generals. According to her, these Generals only fight when they need to, so we didn't have to worry too much about them. She assured us that if they did pose a threat, she would take care of them. I told her to go ahead. I wanted to run back into my room, curl up in a ball and maybe die…_

_What? It sounded good at the time. Anyways, she's the most veteran Ranger out there. She should do the dirty work._

_Then the fighting started. The Venjix army approached, ready to infiltrate the dome. They didn't expect to see us. There were armies of Grinders, a few screwed up robot-human looking things, and a General. Just one. So the Rangers, minus me, jumped into actions. The RPM guys took out the Grinders, RJ focused on the robot monster things, and Tori had to fend off the Kilobyte… I think that was his name._

_Now I'm going to be brutally honest. I freaked out. I had the biggest panic attack I've ever suffered. You can't blame me though. Flooding is supposed to show the person that they are safe. I wasn't safe. I was being attacked by my biggest fears. Therefore, I froze up. I forgot how to breathe, my heart was pounding so much I thought it was going to jump out of my chest and run a marathon without me. I was sweating from head to toe, and it wasn't even brutally hot out. I had the shakes, I threw up a couple of times, I was scared, cold, warm, numb… all that fun stuff, mixed with the knowledge that I was going to die._

_Yes, the knowledge. At that point I was certain that I was not going to survive this fight. If Venjix didn't kill me, I was going to kill myself._

_I don't know how long this lasted. It couldn't have been too long. When we got back to Corinth, Tori said that while we were out there longer than expected, we didn't pass the hour mark. But I couldn't tell you if she was right. I can't remember anything beyond my feelings of terror and thoughts of death. It could have been less than an hour, or it could have been days._

_But I know one thing, I needed help. Of all the times I needed someone by my side, this was __**the**__ time._

_I could see what was happening. For the most part I chose to ignore it though. What I couldn't ignore what was happened during my panic attack. Kilobyte finally saw me and quickly tossed Tori aside. I guess because I was freaking out, I wasn't much of a threat. You know, the Grinders had the Rangers to take care of, and RJ was trying to keep the monster robots off me._

_But Kilobyte had a sick streak. He wanted to go after me. And for a quick moment he had his chance. He was strong, even for Tori, and her still-injured shoulder wasn't helping her. After he pushed her aside, it took her years to get back up (not literal years, but it felt like it)._

_Kilobyte walked towards me and I could hear every footstep digging into the dirt and sand, but I couldn't fight. My body shut down. I knew I was going to die._

_I didn't see it, but apparently RJ was tired of fighting robot monsters. He summoned his wolf spirit to finish them off. Just in time too, because he saw Kilobyte headed for me and Tori temporarily out of action. Without even taking the time to think, he summoned his wolf again, and the big, purple creature jumped onto Kilobyte._

_Then RJ said something cheesy. Can't remember what it was. I think a pun. I didn't realise Rangers did that until today. I heard Scott do a few too. I guess it's a heat of the moment thing._

_So, for a few minutes, RJ took on Kilobyte, keeping him away from me. Now, like I said before, flooding consists of the patient facing their fears in a totally safe environment. But, for us Rangers, life is never totally safe. I mean, even after we defeated Dai Shi, we were still in danger. We had Flit operating the ovens for a few months. __**Bad idea!**_

_But, at that point, I did start to feel safe. My panic attack began to subside, and by the time Tori was kneeling next to me, I was a functioning human being again. I wasn't watching what was happening on the battlefield, and I wasn't watching myself panic. I was living it._

_RJ was protecting me. True to his word, he was keeping me safe. He wasn't about to let anything happen to me. And I trusted him. At that point, I trusted him with my life._

_Tori asked me if I was okay. I don't know what came over me, but I answered yes. She helped me to my feet, a little clumsily considering she only had one arm, but I stood up. Then, she got a call from inside Corinth, telling her the shields were rising and we were supposed to be on our way back._

_But we couldn't leave. Not yet. I still had a fear to fight and RJ was getting tired. Kilobyte was strong and this was RJ's second battle. He fell._

_The Rangers were still finishing off the Grinders. They couldn't help him. Tori wanted to get back into the fight. I could see the look in her eyes, but her Ranger suit had disappeared a long time before that, and her shoulder was really bleeding. So she turned to me._

"_One hit, yellow," she told me, "Kilobyte's strong, but I heard about the Dai Shi. You defeated a dragon bigger than any Megazord. RJ's not going to let anything happen to you, and neither am I. One hit. You can do it."_

_I nodded. She was right._

_Now, I was scared. I was terrified. If I wasn't so scared, I would have passed out from fear. I was still sweating, my heart was still beating, I was freezing cold but burning hot at the same time and I don't think I took a single breathe in the wastelands. But I did it anyways._

"_Bring out the Cheetah!"_

_I still need help. I know I do. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight. The nightmares are going to be worse, I know it. But I trust my friends, and the people around me. I know I'm safe here with them. Bumps in the night still make me whimper. I'm jumping while writing this. Hunter's still not allowed to whistle. Not only does it make me think of the bombs, but it's very annoying._

_I still have phobias. Irrational fears. I don't like the TV, the radio, the video games, the computers. The fridge, toaster and the stove creep me out and don't even think about sneaking up behind me._

_But now I know that I can fight this __**thing**__, as everyone else calls it. I know I'm bigger than it. Like Master Guinn told me when she used the same tactic to help me with my fear of spiders. I'm still afraid. Very afraid, but I can control my fears. I don't think I'll be having a full-blown panic attack anytime soon._

_Thankfully. They were getting old._

Lily smiled as she read over what she had written on her papers. She flipped to the first of three pages and quickly jotted down a chapter title.

_Flooding – Stupid Idea, But It Can Work._

She organised her papers and turned to her bed. She hadn't been lying about not being able to sleep. She was still terrified, but she did crawl under the blankets and grabbed a book from her bedside table. Instead of freaking out, she figured she might as well read. Fran and Dom paid good virtual money for these books.

-Fight-Flight-

Over in the other bedroom, Hunter and Kelly were getting ready for bed. Normally this was a routine that involved pillow fights, strange comments, snickers from RJ and Dom and more pillow fights, but tonight it was rather quiet.

RJ and Dom weren't ready for bed yet. After the fight in the wastelands, RJ needed some time to wind down and he needed someone to tend to his minor injuries. That someone was Dom, who wanted to hear all about RJ getting back into action, as well as updates on how Lily handled herself.

As Hunter changed into his pyjamas and crawled into bed, he looked over at Kelly. It was still before midnight on Valentine's Day. Their first official Valentine's Day. Hunter wanted there to be a little something special to the day. He reached his arm out and wrapped it around Kelly.

The red head didn't shy away. She remembered the advice Fran gave her. She had been in this relationship longer than Hunter. She needed to give him time to warm up to it. If he wasn't ready to give her a simple kiss, she would wait. After all, he couldn't have been too far from the kissing mark. They had gotten together thanks a kiss they shared; in front of people no less.

Hunter pulled her in closer and started kissing her. Again, Kelly didn't pull away, even when his kisses moved from her mouth, down to her neck and continued to trail.

But Kelly didn't pull away, because she wasn't paying much attention. Hunter didn't seem to notice. He seemed to be happy just kissing her.

Kelly's thoughts went back to the reluctant kiss he gave her at the dance. Maybe Fran was right about Hunter needing to go a little slower, but Kelly was starting to put two and two together. A quick kiss wasn't a big deal, especially after he had kissed her passionately not once, not twice, but three times in front of everyone they were living with (which wasn't a small group).

He had kissed her after losing control; after needing her so badly in the middle of the night that he was ready to have his way. She didn't blame him for that, and made nothing of it. A few times she had wished she could do the same. But it was suspicious behaviour.

He kissed her when he wanted it. When they were in the middle of arguing and the last thought on Kelly's mind was hooking up with Hunter. He kissed her then.

Right now, he was kissing her. All the romance he was feeling (and she knew he was feeling it), he was doing this on his own. She wasn't pulling away, but she wasn't kissing back. She wasn't really doing anything. Hunter was all over her. He was kissing her; he was letting himself touch her. He was holding her. He was on top of her.

"Hunter…" she whispered but Hunter hushed her with another kiss.

"I'm sure we have enough time before RJ and Dom come to bed…"

"Hunter…"

"Shh."

Hunter pulled off his shirt before leaning in and kissing Kelly again. She could feel his hands moving to remove her shirt. Finally, she said it.

"No."

Hunter stopped. He pulled away. He was still on her, but he was a little too surprised to move. Kelly said it again.

"No, Hunter… I can't."

Hunter furrowed his brows as he rolled off her. He looked at the ceiling.

"Great," he frowned. "Do I have a something on my forehead that says _fear me_?" he asked.

"What?"

"First Lily, now you. I get I freaked out you last time I did this, but I wasn't going to go that far, Kelly! I would never, ever hurt you!"

Kelly sat up in bed and looked at Hunter. She shook her head, "No… that's not it. I know you won't… not like that anyways…"

She trailed off as she tried to organize her thoughts.

"It's just… after today…"

"Lily's fine, I told you," Hunter said, thinking she was worried about Lily. "She said so herself, she agreed to go out into the wastelands and fight, and you saw how she came back. She's okay!"

"It's not Lily I worry about…"

"Alex? Cam gave him some really good advice for his nightmares. He's okay too! Tomorrow, or soon, we'll have answers for him."

"The kiss, Hunter, I meant the kiss," Kelly said, worried that Hunter was never going to draw that conclusion. Of course he would think about everything else.

Hunter looked down at his hands nervously. Kelly could tell he knew what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry about that," he started. Kelly nodded slowly.

"I want to know something," she asked him. "Am I just a rebound?"

"What?" Hunter gasped. He sat up suddenly; as if that was the most ridiculous question someone would ever ask him. Kelly knew it was a bit of a stupid question. He had already told her he loved her. What man would say that to his rebound, but technically, he did just end his relationship with Tori the same day he got together with her. It was entirely possible that this was just mixed emotions. That it was just his way of dealing. If it was, Kelly didn't want to be that woman.

But she needed his answer. His reassurance. His honesty.

"Just… think about it… Hunter…"

But he didn't think about it. He took Kelly's hands and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you, Kel," he told her without any hesitation or trace of doubt in his voice. "I… I know this is a weird kind of relationship but… I do love you."

Kelly pulled away from Hunter and got out of the bed. She hugged herself as she paced around the room.

"I know Hunter," she whispered. "You told me that… but the thing is… this!" she pointed to the bed, "I mean, you were ready to go for it and I wasn't really there… I was just… there… I don't know!"

She threw her hands up in the air, frustrated by her inability to explain the way she was feeling. Hunter ran his hands through his hair.

"Kelly…"

"It's not the first time I'm not there, Hunter," Kelly continued.

"I know," Hunter sighed, lowering his head, almost in shame.

"And the kiss… what were you afraid of?" Kelly asked him. "You'd kissed me in public before! You've kissed in public before! You were a fucking animal with Tori on regular days, never mind the Anti-Valentine's Law I had to set up in my store to keep you two love rabbits from repopulating some new world! Why was it different for me?"

"I don't know, Kel," Hunter shrugged. He looked up at her, "But I do love you. You know that, right? I was stupid before."

Kelly sat on the bed again, turning her back to Hunter as she looked at the wall.

"It's just…" Kelly whispered. "After that kiss I started to wonder if maybe this was too soon. It was too easy… too… too not right."

"Kelly…"

"No, Hunter… I just feel like you broke up with Tori and needed someone and I was the first thing available. I feel like… you're not looking for a relationship, you're looking for… sex," Kelly turned her head and looked at Hunter while she said this. He was sitting on the other side of the bed, looking very upset. Kelly couldn't blame him though. She was upset as well. But if she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she needed to say these things. If not she was always going to have questions. "You and Tori broke up a few months ago… you… you've been after her ever since… it's not an easy time and then… you talk with her and suddenly you're in love with me. And after… with the hesitant kiss and the… bed stuff… I just feel like… your get over Tori toy."

Hunter had a pained look on his face as he turned to face Kelly. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell she was hurting just as much as he was. She wasn't completely wrong in her accusations. Even Hunter had to admit that everything was looking a little sceptical. And he couldn't tell her she was wrong in the way she felt.

But he was sure about one thing, and this was the most important thing. He crawled across the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Kelly tried to pull away. Hunter wasn't surprised. He held onto her though.

"Listen to me," he told her softly. Kelly stopped pulling and settled into his arms. Hunter smiled as he held her close. He just wanted to hold her; nothing more. "I'm going to tell you something, okay?"

"What?"

"Do you remember that night I came to your apartment?" Hunter asked. "The night you were eating dinner and I knocked on your door. You opened it, and the first thing I said was…"

"You hadn't forgiven me," Kelly finished for him. Hunter nodded.

"Yeah. You remember what happened then, right? What I told you?"

"You didn't want a relationship," Kelly nodded. "You didn't want a friendship. You just wanted your job."

"Basically," Hunter chuckled. He pulled Kelly onto his lap. "But… I have something to tell you. It was easier walking across the wastelands to get to Corinth City than it was to walk away from your door that night."

Kelly looked up at him with big, hopeful eyes. Hunter smiled when he saw her face. He leaned in closer. Close enough so that their noses were touching, their lips brushed against each other and they had nowhere else to look but into each other's eyes.

"I've loved you since the day I broke your heart."

A smile lit up Kelly's face. She wrapped her arms around Hunter's neck and jumped on him, almost knocking him over. Hunter laughed as he continued to hold her.

At that moment, RJ and Dominic walked in. Hunter growled under his breath at their terrible timing. He grabbed the shirt he had discarded earlier and tossed it at his friends.

"Hey! This is our room too!" Dominic laughed as he pulled the shirt off of RJ's head.

Kelly looked over her shoulder at RJ and Dom and shot them one look. That was all it took before the two boys got the message. They scrambled out of the bedroom and quickly closed the door.

Dominic looked at the clock, "They do realize Valentine's Day is over, right?"

"Apparently not," RJ sighed. He leaned against the door before suddenly sprinting towards the couches. "I get the big one!"

"DAMMIT!"


	42. Alex' Dream

Alex wasn't getting a restful sleep. He was having another dream. But this wasn't a typical dream, with a setting and people and a storyline. That disappeared ages ago. To Alex, this felt like the kind of dreams in movies. Where everything was white and fluffy except for himself and the person he was talking with.

Libby.

She hovered over him, looking down. She reached her hand out for Alex to take. He held it very gently but firmly enough so she couldn't fly away and leave him, not this time.

"Libby… I know you can hear me," he said again. One thing that sucked about dreams: as much as he could control it, there were some things that he just couldn't do. Libby wasn't answering him. At least, not in the way he expected. "Where are you stuck?"

Libby cried out, though her voice sounded like a song, _"I couldn't follow them!"_

"Where, Libs?" Alex asked her. "Where are you? Please just tell me!"

"_Here!" _her voice echoed, but there was no way that was possible. The room they were in, if it could be called a room, was wide open and empty.

"Where?" Alex demanded.

"_I can't follow them!"_

Alex groaned in frustration. This was going around in circles. He wanted to know where she was, but she never answered him.

"Libby, I want to help you!" he told her, and her ghost reached for him and grabbed his shirt, like if she let go, she would float away. Alex didn't want that to happen. His dreams always ended when she disappeared. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her in closer. "Please, Libby… I want to help."

"_They left me!"_

"Who left you?" Alex asked. A look of relief washed over Libby's face as she went to answer him.

"_The others,"_ she said. _"I'm not like them."_

Alex looked away as he tried to decipher her words. It hit him.

"The Ninjas!" he cried out as he turned to face her. He saw a smile on her face. "The Ninjas! The cavern!"

"_They left without me!"_ Libby nodded. _"I couldn't follow them!"_

Suddenly the wind picked up. Seemingly impossible considering Alex was sure this was a land of nothingness. As he brushed the hair from his eyes, he noticed Libby starting to fade away. He held onto her, but the look in her eyes begged for him to let her go, even if it was the last thing either of them wanted. Alex released her hand, but not before promising to help her find her way again.

-Fight-Flight-

Alex woke up in a cold sweat. He was panting heavily. He looked around the room at his sleeping roommates. Casey was snoring loudly, Theo was stiff as a board (even in his sleep he was perfectly disciplined), and Fran fell asleep once again with a book on her face.

Alex threw off the blankets and reached for his leg. He placed it on, made sure it was secure, before getting out of bed. As he walked to the door, he did like he did every night. He tossed a pillow at Casey's face, wrinkled Theo's blankets, and removed the book and glasses from Fran's face.

When he stepped into the main room, he was disappointed to see Lily wasn't waiting for him like usual. But he hoped she was still awake. He tip-toed to her bedroom door and knocked softly. In the off chance that she would be sleeping, he didn't want to wake her.

He didn't hear her voice so he cracked the door open slightly. He smiled when he saw her sleeping form in the bed. She seemed relaxed and at ease, finally. He was happy for her, but she had to pick tonight of all nights to get a decent rest.

He closed her door without making a sound and looked around the dark empty room. He didn't want to wake anyone, but he couldn't sit with his thoughts. He contemplated walking around; purposely making enough noise to arouse someone so they would get up. Alex desperately needed someone to talk to at this moment.

He walked to the couches and noticed Dom and RJ were sleeping soundly. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he could wake them up, but he didn't really know them well enough to talk.

But that did mean that Hunter and Kelly were alone in their bedroom. They were the two people he trusted the most. Hunter already knew of his Libby issues as well as the dreams. He would be able to help him figure out the next step. Kelly was always a big help, even when she had no idea what she was helping with, or that she was even helping. She had a way of always calming him down and reassuring him that there was somebody willing to listen and be of service.

He knocked on their bedroom door, just in case. There had to be a reason Dom and RJ never made it to bed. He waited a few seconds before opening the door. He stood under the threshold, watching Hunter and Kelly as they woke up and rolled over in bed to face him. Hunter reached over to turn on the lights. When the light flooded the room, Alex rubbed his eyes, reminding both Hunter and Kelly of a scared, young boy who needed his parents.

"I had a dream," he muttered softly.

Hunter and Kelly exchanged looks before slowly getting out of bed. Hunter reached for an article of clothing from the floor. Alex didn't want to know what he was reaching for. He thought it best not to wonder and just think he was putting on a pair of socks. Kelly reached for her end table and put her glasses on. She was first out of bed.

She walked over to Alex and wrapped her arm around him.

"C'mon," she yawned as she took him to the kitchen. She turned on the lights, surprised it didn't wake up RJ or Dominic. She realised why though when she saw both men were sleeping with their faces pressed against the pillow.

Well, they were either sleeping, or they had suffocated. Either way, they weren't Kelly's problem yet. It was too early and she hadn't had her cup of coffee yet.

Hunter walked out of the bedroom (without socks, though Alex refused to believe that), and took a seat at the breakfast table beside Alex while Kelly got started on a cup of tea for the three of them. It was too late at night for her to get started on coffee, and she did plan on going back to bed once this issue with Alex was sorted.

She placed a crimson mug and an orange mug in front of Hunter and Alex respectively before grabbing her own green mug for herself. She looked at the boy.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Was it Libby?" Hunter added.

Alex nodded, "I think I have my answers."

Kelly turned to Hunter. He had filled her in on Alex' nightmares when he came home with the boy after the party and the Venjix battle. She knew enough to understand that this was a serious topic.

"What are they?" she asked him.

"She couldn't follow the other ninjas," Alex said. He looked to Hunter, "They had to leave without her. I think she's stuck in a kind of middle… and…"

"Between Heaven and Earth?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah!" Alex nodded. "Like… like in an in-between. I don't think she can go anywhere. I mean… she's dead, right? But… wherever she was supposed to go… wherever the other ninjas are, she can't follow because she's not a ninja. But that cavern of lost ghouls or whatever… that's destroyed, so she can't go back."

"This is why I didn't sign up for the Ninja thing," Kelly frowned as she took a sip of her tea. "It confuses the hell out of me."

"I promised I would help her!" Alex said as he looked at Kelly. "We have to get her to move on… or come back!"

Kelly put her mug down as she heard this. She gave Alex a sympathetic look.

"I miss her too, kid," she told him. "I want her back… but she's dead. You can't get your hopes up and wish for her to come back."

"I… I feel like I can. I feel like… maybe…" Alex paused for a moment. The ideas were coming to him as he spoke, like he hadn't quite snapped out of the dream. "Maybe that's her answer."

"People don't come back from the dead," Hunter tried to assure Alex. "That's why we call them dead."

"But… maybe…"

"She blew up, kid."

"But I feel it!" Alex said. He looked at Hunter and Kelly, hoping for their support on this. He realised just how insane it sounded. Trying to help the dead was already a task that seemed impossible. But here he was, asking them for their help to revive someone who was dead.

He saw Kelly's shoulders slumping forward. This was either a sign of him breaking through, or her giving up. He couldn't tell. But she did offer him a sympathetic smile before turning her look to Hunter.

"C'mon," she said to her boyfriend, "You used to fight crazy, weird, ugly, out of this world monsters. You can't tell me you don't believe there might be a way to help her either move on or come back."

Alex couldn't keep himself from breaking down. He felt like such a boy, but at the same time, he had never felt like more of a man as the tears started falling from his eyes and he jumped out of his seat to hug Kelly. She laughed softly as she wrapped her arms around him to show him her support. She looked at Hunter again.

"I know you care about Libby just as much as we do," she said. "Don't you think we owe it to her to try and help her find peace?"

Hunter let out a deep breath before nodding, "You're right."

Alex smiled. He couldn't believe they were actually on his side. It sounded so ridiculous. As hurt as he would have been if they had turned their back on him, he would have understood.

But it meant so much that they were willing to try and help him.

Kelly took him by the arms and pushed him back slightly so she could look him directly in the eyes.

"I'm not promising a miracle," she told him. "I'm not saying we're going to bring Libby back to life. We're just going to do what we can to get her to rest in peace. Do you understand?"

"I just want her to live in peace," Alex nodded while wiping the tears from his eyes, "either in this life, or the afterlife."

Kelly pulled him back into her arms, "Good boy."

Hunter stood up from his seat with a smile, "Hey, kid," he called to Alex. The boy turned to him, "We'll get Cam, the other Ninjas, and the kittens to help you with this tomorrow. The sooner we can help, the sooner you and Lib can get some sleep."

"Thanks, guys," Alex smiled.

Hunter ruffled the boy's hair, "Don't sweat it. Just go back to bed. I have a feeling you'll need to be well rested for tomorrow."

Suddenly, Casey's loud snoring interrupted the family's conversation. The trio winced and blocked their ears until the roaring subsided.

Kelly shot Alex a look, "You can sleep in our room for tonight if you want."

Alex nodded, "Alright… but Hunter."

"Yeah?"

"Keep your socks on."

As Alex rushed to his bedroom for the night, Hunter looked down at his bare feet. Kelly tapped his shoulder as she walked by him.

"I told you to get dressed when we finished."

"I didn't really think he was going to get the dream tonight!"

Kelly smiled playfully at him before walking to the bedroom as well, with a teasing swing in her hips. Hunter ran his hand through his hair as he watched her move.

He really needed to consider getting his own place.


	43. Contact

Tori cradled the phone between her ear and her cheek as she stood in the middle of the Garage, watching and taking note of the Rangers during their endurance testing. Today it was rather easy. Tori had turned it into a competition. Whoever ran the longest won the rest of the day off, and if someone ran for more than four hours straight, they would get to pick which one of their team-mates needed to redo their training.

On the phone, Tori was talking with Hunter. He was trying to get her to leave the Garage and meet with him, Kelly, Alex and the Jungles at the loft, but Tori was trying to convince him that Dr. K wouldn't let her leave at all, even under the watchful eye of her Rangers.

"Hunter, the minute the Rangers and I stepped back into this Garage Colonel Truman ripped the morpher from my hand and walked away without another word! These guys are so paranoid, it's crazy!"

Tori noticed Summer was starting to get tired. She did have a great disadvantage. She smiled at the yellow Ranger and mouthed: "Day off."

Just like that, Summer straightened out and fell back into a steady pace. Tori turned away for a moment, but she could still hear the treadmills running.

"You'd think he would thank me for saving the world," she scoffed to Hunter. "Look, Dr. K's okay with everyone coming here. He just tunes us all out and hides away in some super secret corner of a secret room I have yet to find. Why can't we just meet up here?"

Tori glanced over her shoulder, "Flynn, put your tongue back in your mouth! You're not a dog!"

Flynn was surprised she had known he had been panting like that, and his look was not lost on Summer and Scott who both started chuckling.

"I don't care if you come now," Tori shrugged her shoulders as she continued her phone conversation. "You might have to talk over the sound of three treadmills running, but we're all decent."

Again, Tori looked over her shoulder at the three sweaty, smelly, and messy teenagers running behind her.

"Well… I'm decent at least. Garage in thirty minutes if not I can't help you. See you."

Tori hung up the phone, tossed it over to the couch and smiled at her Rangers.

"Almost at an hour… maybe we should pick up the pace."

"We already have a mutiny plan," Scott warned his mentor. He turned to Flynn, "You ready?"

"Oh yeah," Flynn nodded with a malicious smile. Tori took a step back and jotted down some notes on her paper. She read them as she marked the notes down.

"Possibility of evil Rangers slightly elevated. Should consider opening try-outs for loyal and kind Black and Green Operators."

"We heard that!" the three Rangers called out. Tori grinned.

"Keep running."

"Do we still need to train?" Summer frowned. She grabbed the handlebars on the sides of the treadmills, clearly exhausted from her run. "I mean, we kicked some Grinder butt!"

Tori laughed at Summer's statement. It was truly funny to her.

"Oh, sweetie, fighting the henchmen is what I looked forward to!" she smiled. "They were the warm up, and they didn't smell like you guys do now… I hope we have enough warm water."

"You know guys, we can put ourselves out of this misery if you both step down and let me win," Scott smirked as he eyed his opponents. Summer and Flynn exchanged a look before Summer nodded.

Still jogging, Flynn reached over to Scott's treadmill and shoved the Red Ranger off. Scott tumbled and was swept backwards by the moving carpet.

Summer was laughing as Scott picked himself up off the ground. His entire body now not only ached from the hour of constant running, but also from the bruises, scrapes and burns he'd received from falling.

"You know, if you grew that hair out even more, it could have cushioned your fall," she teased the Red Ranger.

Scott grumbled as he dusted himself off and limped to the chairs to take a breather.

"You're both going to regret that."

-Fight-Flight-

Dustin held up his hand again, at which Tori and Cam both rolled their eyes. Even with the title of Sensei, the man still behaved like a school child. Even if he was one of the "brains" trying to work on figuring out the Libby situation, he still behaved like he was the one trying to learn.

He scratched his head when all eyes turned on him.

"So… is she like… not dead or something? Because I saw her head back at Ninja ops and it was… like… miles away from her body, dude."

Everyone in the room groaned at his comment. Even Kelly and Fran and the RPMs, who were all the least educated in the ways of the Academies, were still questioning Dustin's inability to follow the conversation, when they were doing so without much trouble. So far, what had been discussed about Alex' dreams was that they were not dreams, but visions, and that in order for them to cease, Alex was going to have to do something to help Libby's spirit move on.

All they weren't sure of was what their friends meant when they said move on.

The reigning endurance champion, Flynn (though Scott begged to differ), placed his hand on Dustin's shoulder.

"We're looking for her ghost."

Dustin nodded his head, "Okay, dude, that makes a lot more sense."

Fran seemed to agree, "Normally I don't believe in this… hocus-pocus magic stuff… but is there any way we can like… contact Libby? All of us?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "and get her to speak in English and not code."

"What if we were to reach the spirit world?" Theo suggested. He looked at his friends, particularly his teammates, "I mean, with the exception of the feud between the Pai Zhuq and the Thunder Academy, our schools were good allies for a few hundred years. Would it be possible that the lost ninja spirits traveled to the Spirit World to live in peace?"

"You mean now that the dead ninjas lost their cavern?" Hunter asked.

Kelly whispered to Fran, "Is it too late to become an atheist and deny all this strange stuff?"

"Yeah," Theo responded to Hunter. He looked at RJ, "Do you think… maybe, the Masters would have invited the Ninjas in?"

"It's possible," RJ said.

"So… am I like… going to be part of some freaky ritual thing?" Alex asked as he looked around the room nervously. "You know… like with candles and no lights and incense that makes my throat tickle?"

"Not quite," Dominic laughed. He too turned to RJ, "I thought the Spirit World was a one way deal. You go in, but you don't get out."

"We barely made it out last time we went," Casey nodded. "If it hadn't been for Dai Shi… we probably would have been trapped there."

"Bet you never thought you would say that," Lily rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Dai Shi."

"What about us?" Blake asked. He was trying hard to pay attention, but he was constantly distracted by Summer. For reasons he didn't know, the yellow Ranger was trying to poke Tori's reinjured shoulder and he had to whack her hand away before Tori found out she was in danger. He swatted her hand away again before quickly turning to the group, "What are we supposed to do? Ninjas don't know how to get into the spirit world, never mind know how to leave."

"Blake's got a good point," Dominic nodded. "The ninjas don't even really know about the spirit world…"

"But if we're going to convince the Masters to talk to us and send us home, we're going to need Alex and one of the Ninjas to explain this stuff," Lily frowned. "The Pay Zhuq was around for thousands of years before the first Ninja Academy was ever created. Master Guinn, Lope and Rilla probably wouldn't have an interest in helping a lost ninja soul that isn't really a ninja."

"So talk to another master," Alex shrugged. Lily shook her head.

"Those three are the top. You don't mess with the spirit world or the spirits without them knowing."

"We'll have to run this by them anyways," Casey added.

"I'll go up there with Alex," Hunter said, offering himself to travel to the spirit world. "Which one of you kittens is brave enough to travel with us?"

"I'll have you know, only three-fifth of our team has a cat spirit," Dominic frowned.

"I'll go with you two," RJ offered. He quickly looked at Lily to confirm it was okay if he left. While she had progressed considerably, he knew she was far from being able to cope with her disorder on her own. But the cheetah smiled at him as Casey wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He would still be there to watch her.

"Great, Hunter and the bearded one," Alex twirled his finger in the air as he groaned, "Why am I getting a bad feeling?"

"Just to be clear…" Hunter frowned. "What exactly should I be expecting in the spirit world? Ghosts? Live animal spirits ready to eat me.

"Pink," Theo stated.

"Lots of pink," Casey added.

Tori blinked before she smiled, "Perfect for the substitute pink Ninja Ranger."

"Crimson is the total opposite of pink!" Hunter growled. "Pink is red with girly stuff… Crimson is… strong, edgy…"

"A darkened pink," Tori stated teasingly.

Hunter growled again but said nothing to her as he turned to his team, "Get me out of here before she has more than three teenagers and a shoulder to worry about."

"We need a portal to take us to the Spirit World," RJ said. He then got up from his seat and started pacing around, as if searching for something. When Cam was about to question him, he held his hand up and hushed loudly, not wanting to be interrupted.

"I need candles, a large, empty space, a mat and bananas."

"Wh…"

"Don't question it," RJ interrupted rudely. "I'm going to try and open up a portal on my own. I think I remember Master Swoop talking about getting in contact with the other world…"

"What's with the bananas, then?" Scott asked as he walked to the kitchen to grab the wolf Master a bunch of bananas.

RJ smiled as he accepted the fruit, "Meditating makes me hungry."


	44. Libby's Return

RJ's meditation had worked, and after only a few hours he had opened up a portal to the spirit world, leaving the others behind while he, Alex, and Hunter talked with the Masters. The trio knew it wasn't going to be easy. While Master Rilla and Lope would be easier to talk to, Master Guinn was stubborn and refused to bend the rules for anyone unless under urgent circumstances. She hadn't been keen on sending the Rangers home the first time they had visited. It was only when she heard the Dai Shi had escaped that she changed her mind.

This time, there was no danger on Earth that RJ, Hunter or Alex needed to come home to.

This worried Lily as the cheetah paced the Garage. Back and forth. She bit her nails as she waited, and every so often she would look to the skies. She was sure she was going to start freaking out any minute now, but she kept herself calm by reminding herself that RJ always knew what he was doing.

Suddenly, Casey ran over to her, approaching from behind. He placed his hands on her back which caused her to scream and jump.

Casey took a step back as Lily turned around and caught her breath. It took her a moment to register Casey's face as non-threatening, but she did calm down.

"Don't do that," she growled.

Casey shot her an apologetic look, "Sorry… I didn't mean it. I was just so excited!"

"About what?" Lily asked. It was then Theo, Dom and Fran approached her as well. Theo handed Lily a piece of paper. As Lily grabbed the paper, she felt it was still warm, like it had just been printed. She glanced at the paper briefly before looking up. "What's this?"

"We talked with Tori about your condition thing," Fran started, "she noticed you were pacing and asked it you were okay and…"

"You don't have to explain. I know I'm the freak show around here," Lily interrupted, trying to get Fran to go on before she ranted completely off topic.

Fran nodded and quickly continued, "She's got connections through Dr. K to the military and apparently they've found a few therapists. One of the is qualified to help you manage your post-traumatic stress!"

"You're kidding?" Lily asked with a smile.

Fran nodded her head enthusiastically before hugging her friend. She was excited that Lily was finally going to get proper help. RJ had been very good with her, but there was only so far a hippie wolf-master could take her. Lily was at the point where she needed real professional help if she truly wanted to overcome her disorder.

"It pays to make new friends," Theo commented as he too hugged his best friend.

"It does," Lily smiled. She looked at the paper again for a phone number, only to realise she wouldn't be able to contact this therapist unless it was by snail mail. Her smile fell slightly until Casey grabbed the papers from her hand gently.

"I'll make the call for you," he told her. He knew that if RJ had been here, he would have talked Lily into using the phone, but Casey wasn't as direct. Lily needed help, but he figured that every once in a while it was okay to let her give into her fears. It wouldn't be worth the panic and the screaming just for a phone call.

But when she did start her treatment, Casey was ready to stick to those rules, no matter how crazy they sounded.

Lily hadn't been the only one worried about her friends up in the spirit world. Over in the kitchen, Kelly had been keeping herself busy, trying to take her mind off Hunter and Alex while Dustin, Shane and Blake went on about possible outcomes of traveling via portal to the world of the dead, and they didn't hold back on any of the details. They sat around the table discussing centuries of hard labour, manipulations of the mind, being forbidden to ever return and banished to the Abyss for crossing the line between the living and the dead, and more. And they let their imaginations run wild.

It made Kelly's stomach turned as she listened to them. She wanted to run away, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave the conversation. What if they were right?

"Casey told me that last time he went, he had to face his worse fear," Dustin said. "It was horrible. And the worst part was, the gorilla dude wasn't about to let him come home! Those Masters sound intense, dudes! I mean, who forces people to face their fears, and then tell them they are never allowed to return to Earth to live with the newfound courage?"

"It couldn't have been that bad," Shane frowned as he shook his head. "Maybe it was worse. Maybe the fear thing was like… a real trial. Like anything that happened to you happened for real and if you died, you died."

"And it wasn't easy," Blake added.

"Dudes, what if, in order to get home, RJ, Hunter and Alex need to do something intense? Like fight a thousand dead kung fun spirits or something!"

Kelly placed her hand on her stomach. She was literally worried sick, and these boys couldn't see it. She finally approached the table and slammed her hand down, interrupting the conversation.

"Shut. Up," she barked. "I'm already worried about my boyfriend and Alex… and you guys aren't reassuring me at all."

"Don't worry about them, Kelly," Cam said from the couches. He too could hear the boys discussing their theories, and while it didn't bother him like it did Kelly, he could understand her worries. "Masters, like Senseis, are tough, but they've been trained to be fair. I'm sure the three Masters will see Alex' intentions are pure and they'll let him off. He might have to do some kind of trial to return to Earth, but I wouldn't worry about that too much. He'll have Hunter and RJ with him."

"Why does that not reassure me?" Kelly frowned.

"You know what I wonder?" Dustin said as Kelly pulled up a chair and joined him and the others around the table. "What do you think is going to happen to Libby? Is she like… going to come back here to Earth, or do you think the Masters are going to take her back?"

"Tough question, bro," Blake said. "I think they'll kill her off. She doesn't have a body to come back too, right?"

Dustin, Shane and Kelly all blinked as they stared at Blake. Then, the four of then turned their attention over to where Summer was sitting on the other side of the room with Tori and her Rangers. Blake didn't need to be told anything before he got the message.

"I highly doubt Libby's going to be reincarnated into Summer's body."

"Maybe she already was…" Dustin speculated. He continued to watch his successor carefully, "I mean… Summer never tells us about her past, right? It's like… she doesn't have a life before Corinth… her life started when Libby's ended."

It was Blake's turn to blink at his friend, "Dustin, Summer did have a life before the Venjix. Tori's just told me she doesn't really like to talk about it."

"And why wouldn't she?" Dustin said. He looked at his Navy friend. "Think about it, blue boy, what about her past could be so bad that she doesn't want to talk about it? And, you can't ignore the resemblance between her and Libby! And Tori tells me Summer was the brains behind the Valentine's Day decorations. That would have been Libby's job!"

"Okay, so Summer's possessed by Libby's undead spirit," Blake sighed. He gave up, and deeply regretted letting Dustin watch all those movies late at night.

"And that explains why Alex started getting those dreams after seeing Summer for the first time."

"Or," Kelly started, "Alex ignored Libby's death as a defence mechanism while we made our way to Corinth and while he was trying to recover from an amputation. Then, he noticed the resemblance Summer had to Libby and it brought back those memories of her death and opened up some freaky voodoo-ninja-kung-fu connection to Libby's undead ghost."

"What she said," Blake nodded. He looked at Dustin, "Anyways, Alex was the one who told us that Summer used to go to school with Libby, meaning she did have a life, so ha!"

Dustin stuck out his tongue. His theory didn't make sense, but until he found out what happened to Libby's spirit, he wanted to stick with it.

He turned to look at Summer again, hoping she would do something to back him up.

Over on the other side of the garage, Summer was helping Tori re-bandage her shoulder when she saw the group from the breakfast table turning to look at her again. She tapped up the gauze, tossed out the old bandage, and then turned to look at Tori.

"Your friends scare me."

Tori chuckled, "They take some getting used to, I suppose."

"They keep looking at me," Summer frowned.

"You kinda look a bit like the girl we're trying to help," Tori shrugged. "I guess the guys are just going on one of their crazy theory rides. Coming up with a bunch of stuff that doesn't make sense, you know. You're probably the butt of the joke."

"Great," Summer rolled her eyes.

"How long do you think it'll be until those guys get back from the dead world?" Scott asked as he took Summer's wrist to check her watch for the time. "It's been hours!"

"They're going to hell and back, give them a little time," Flynn chuckled.

"The Spirit World isn't hell," Tori corrected the Blue Ranger, "But Flynn's right, Scott. This might be a process. We're going to have to wait it out."

"And what are we going to do if, by some chance, they do come back with this Libby girl?" Scott asked. "While RJ was doing his crazy meditation thing, I heard Hunter going on and on about how he needed to move out of the loft because there wasn't enough room. I doubt this new girl is going to want to live with all boys, and I don't think Dr. K's going to let some stranger live in the Garage with us."

"We'll figure out an arrangement for her," Tori assured the red Ranger. "Just don't worry about it."

She rubbed her shoulder and thanked Summer as she got up and reached for her clipboard. Scott and Summer groaned as they watched her do this. They knew what was coming.

"Alright," Tori smiled, "Laser tag for Operators Red and Yellow."

Both let out a sigh of relief. Laser tag didn't sound too bad.

"With real lasers," Tori continued. "I'd run if I were you. These things burn."

Tori picked up a rather large gun and tossed it to Flynn.

"As winner of the endurance training, you get to shoot your teammates until they bleed," Tori chuckled. She then leaned in closer to Flynn and whispered, "Not really… if you smell burning flesh, switch targets."

"Aye," Flynn nodded and laughed. He cradled the laser in his arms and pointed at his teammates as Scott and Summer started running. Scott grabbed Summer, who was already a few steps ahead of him, and shoved her to the ground.

"Take her first!" he cried as he pulled ahead.

"Scott!" Summer screamed.

"Every man for himself!"

Flynn shot at Summer, hitting her in the back, before switching targets and aiming for Scott. He wasn't completely cruel, but he was going to have a fun time shooting his leader and the former princess.

Scott jumped over the couches and ran towards the jungles, hoping to use them as cover. He assumed Flynn wasn't going to shoot at innocent bystanders.

"Excuse me," he called as he pushed past them.

Lily stared at the laser as Flynn too ran past her. She quickly turned to Dom, Theo and Fran.

"I'm going to need a lot of appointments after this."

Hours passed, and the game of laser tag continued on. Flynn did respect the new rule of _No hitting Tori's friends_, which Summer and Scott took advantage of, but that didn't stop the blue Ranger from getting a few good shots on his teammates and finally getting them cornered where they couldn't run. Because it was a close shot, Flynn turned down the settings, but he aimed the laser directly at Scott and Summer.

"I've got you now," he smirked.

"Next time we run, I'm tripping you," Summer frowned. She was in so much pain after this exercise. She understood that the pain she was feeling was nothing compared to what she would feel in battle against Venjix, and the laser had been designed specifically to train her to resist being shot at by Grinders, but she still felt she had the right to complain and threaten revenge.

"This was too fun," Flynn chuckled as he pulled the trigger. Suddenly all the lights flicked and the power shut off. The laser, unfortunately for Flynn, also powered down.

"I think," Lily started, "that this would be a really bad time for me to announce my sudden fear of the dark and the unknown."

She could feel someone pulling her in closer and started to panic, but soon heard Casey whispering in her ear that it was only him. She calmed herself down and nestled into his arms. Fran, who was also sitting beside Lily, reached out and took her friend's hand for added comfort.

Tori quickly rushed over to her computer and tried to figure out the problem, but her attempts were futile. Nothing was working. Not even Dr. K's computer screens seemed to be working. Tori was slightly relieved. That meant as long as the power was out, she didn't have to listen to Dr. K.

"What's going on?" Blake asked his girlfriend as he got up and made his way over to her in the dark. He couldn't see, and bumped into a few things on the way, which he was sure was going to bruise, but he did eventually make it to her side.

"I have no idea," Tori answered him.

"Maybe it was the laser?" Kelly offered. "It could have hit a wire or something."

"Everything in here is Ranger proof," Tori said as she shook her head, even if no one could see her do so. "There are no exposed wires and no way could that laser have gone through the walls."

"Anyone have a flashlight?" Blake asked, thinking it would help Tori out a little bit if she could see what she was doing with the computer.

"I've got one," Dom said, "but it's not working either. It's weird too, because it's battery powered…"

"The laser shouldn't have gone out either," Tori said. "Flynn, try shooting Summer."

"Why me?" Summer whined.

"It's about time I pick on the girl," Tori shrugged.

Flynn pulled the trigger, but nothing happened, much to Summer's relief. She took advantage of the blinding darkness to crawl past Flynn and get out of the corner while she had the time.

Then, just as quickly as the darkness came, it disappeared again. All lights were back on, and the machines were up and running as they should have been. Tori furrowed her brows, deeply confused, as she made contact with Dr. K to try and figure out what could have happened.

Summer continued to crawl into hiding behind Flynn's precious truck. When she was out of the Blue Ranger's sight she stood up and dusted herself off. She turned around in search of an even safer hiding spot, when she suddenly found herself face to face with a young naked girl.

Her eyes widened and she wanted to scream, but for a moment she forgot how.

"Um…" was all that escaped her lips. Her eyes darted around the room, wanting to avoid staring at the naked girl. She caught sight of the cover on the pool table and rushed for it with an idea. She grabbed it and offered it to the girl for her to cover up.

As she draped the cover over the girl's shoulder, she couldn't help but notice she shared a strong resemblance to this girl. Her first thought was that she somehow found herself in a soap opera and this was her long lost sister that her parents abandoned or gave away. But then reality hit and Summer remembered Tori telling her that she looked a lot like Libby.

Gently, she placed her hand on the girl's back as she walked her out of hiding. She cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Um… this wouldn't happen to be Libby, would it?" she asked.

Dustin and Kelly jumped out of their seats when they saw her and rushed over. The others simply stared, unsure of what to do, or how to respond.

"Libby!" Dustin greeted, opening his arms for a hug, but the girl recoiled, almost in terror. Dustin frowned. He lowered his arms to his side and turned to Kelly with a strange look. The red head shrugged before she tried to greet Libby.

Suddenly, Kelly felt someone pulling her back before she saw Alex rushing past her. Now she had even more questions as she looked over her shoulder and saw Hunter and RJ standing in the middle of the room with all the others. She frowned and then turned back to Libby and saw Alex was standing in front of her protectively.

"I don't think I'm the only one wondering what's going on…" she said.

Alex looked at Kelly, "We got her back."

"I can see that," Kelly nodded.

"We all see that," Dustin frowned.

"We got her back, but she doesn't remember anything," Alex said. "It was the only way we could free her from limbo."

"According to the Masters Libby was doomed to remain in limbo as her spirit didn't qualify to enter the Spirit because she's not trained in the ways of the Pai Zhuq," RJ explained. "In order for her soul to find peace, she needs to discover her animal spirit and train it."

"What?" Dustin frowned.

"She's been given a second chance," Alex explained. "She's been completely reborn."

Summer had no idea what was happening. All she knew was that this girl – Libby, apparently – needing clothing.

She gently touched the girl's shoulder, "You probably want to cover up a bit better," she said. "I have some clothes that should fit you."

"Where am I?" the girl asked. "Who am I?"

"We'll help you figure that out," Alex assured her. "Go with Summer. She'll take care of you, I promise."

The girl – Libby – seemed to respond to Alex. She nodded at his request and followed Summer to find something to wear.

Kelly grabbed Alex' arm.

"Okay, kid, explain this so I can understand it."

Alex looked up at Kelly nervously, "Well… you see…"


	45. Arrangements

Alex shrugged his shoulders as he explained Libby's story to the group while Summer helped the new girl find some clothes. He hadn't been sure where to start, but a little encouragement and push from RJ and Hunter set him on track. He looked at Kelly as he finished, basically summing up everything that had happened.

"So, the Masters basically told us that because she wasn't a ninja or a Pai Zhuq, the spirit world wouldn't accept her. The only thing they could do for her was either confine her in her own afterlife, where there would be nothing to live in, or no one to live with… or… the Masters agreed to let her come back here, to Earth, so she could train in the ways of the Pai Zhuq, harness her animal spirit, and that way, when the time comes, she'll be accepted into the spirit world. The only catch is that she doesn't know or remember anything."

Kelly blinked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Truth be told, she couldn't really understand what she was hearing.

Cam shook his head, "So, the spirit world accepts Ninjas… but… not Libby?"

"But if the Cavern took her soul in then…" Blake trailed off. He, like everyone else, seemed to be confused as well.

"The Cavern took her in because she died on Ninja grounds," Hunter explained. "That's why the transfer from the Cavern to the Spirit World didn't work. Ninjas and Pai Zhuq have an alliance to work together, and that alliance is still good in the afterlife. But Libby doesn't have an alliance to either school. Her spirit was supposed to stay put. She never had the option to trade over."

"And they couldn't make an exception?" Fran frowned. Kelly glared at the bookworm. Fran understood a lot more than she did, and Kelly was convinced this was due to the fact that Fran had known for a while that her friends were Power Rangers and trained in the way of the Pai Zhuq. Kelly had only known for a few months now.

"They are by giving her a second chance," RJ nodded. "I've agreed, on the behalf of my Rangers, to help Libby train and harness an animal spirit."

"You're going to need a school," Shane smirked before quickly nudging Cam. The Green Ranger quickly got the message. He nodded.

"Shane and I had been talking about starting up a Ninja Academy here in Corinth… maybe we can double up. As far as we know, we're the only descendents of our Academies. We can use this to truly work together and intertwine our histories."

"And it'll help spread bills around," Shane chuckled jokingly.

RJ laughed along as he looked to his team, hoping they would support his decision to help Libby. Casey nodded when he saw RJ giving him a look. He was on board.

"Guys?" RJ asked. Dominic, Theo and Lily all looked up at him before nodding as well, ready to help out.

"We'll help you out too," Tori offered as she turned to her boys. "After all, Libby was our friend."

"Maybe you can help with living arrangements," Hunter asked his ex. She frowned.

"What?"

"Well, we're kinda cramped at the loft, I doubt Libby's going to want to live with four other guys… and she and Summer are already kinda… hitting it off," Hunter shrugged. "She might be more comfortable here."

"And she doesn't have to run into Hunter without socks," Alex chuckled. He turned to Kelly as he laughed; knowing she would understand what he was talking about.

Kelly faked a small chuckle before getting out of her seat. She was still very confused about the matter with Libby, but everyone else was starting to get it. It wasn't their fault, or hers for that matter, that she didn't understand, but that didn't keep her from feeling a little left out.

Once she was out of her seat she walked upstairs to the bedroom, unnoticed by everyone else. She had seen which door led to Summer's room and knocked before opening.

"Is everyone decent?" she asked as she stepped inside the room. She spotted Summer first, who nodded.

"Yeah, we're just trying to pick out a sweater for Libs," she smiled. "She's going to need something to go outside in."

Kelly couldn't help but notice Libby's clothes, aside from the jeans, were pink. She turned to Summer and gave the yellow Ranger a funny look. One thing she discovered after learning the identities of the Power Rangers was that, no matter what, they always wore their Ranger colours. Even now, Shane, Dustin, Tori, Blake, Hunter and Cam wore their colours. And Casey, Theo, Lily, RJ and Dom were the same.

"Pink?" she chuckled.

"I had a life before I was a Ranger," Summer nodded. "Pink used to be my favourite colour. I'm leaning towards yellow, now."

"Of course," Kelly nodded. She looked at Libby and quickly realised it was best if she introduced herself. "I'm Kelly."

Libby glanced at Summer and waited for the Ranger to give her the okay before she looked to Kelly, "I'm… uh… Libby?"

"Alex said she wouldn't remember anything," Kelly nodded as she turned to Summer.

"I know that much," Summer sighed. "I dressed her, remember?"

Kelly nodded before turning back to Libby, "You don't have to use that name… I guess. If there's anything else you want to be called…"

"I don't know any other names," Libby frowned.

"Libby it is," Kelly smiled. "It's, uh, short for Olivia, by the way. Everyone here is going to call you Libby… but it's just…"

"I like that," Libby said softly. She looked down at her clothes, then up at the two women in the room. The trio sat in an awkward silence before Summer resumed her raid through her dresser, trying to see if she had a suitable sweater for Libby. At this point, she didn't care if it matched her clothes or not, as long as it kept Libby warm.

She pulled out the first sweater her parents bought her when she arrived in Corinth. She wasn't ever going to wear it. She had her RPM Ranger jacket now. She decided it was the one and tossed it onto the bed beside Libby.

"You slip your arms through the sleeves, like with the shirt," she instructed. "The big giant opening, with the metal stuff, is supposed to face the front. It's called a zipper. Like this."

Summer unzipped her jacket slightly to show Libby she too had a zipper. The young girl reached for the sweater and hesitantly slipped it on. Summer helped her straighten it out, and then showed Libby how the zipper worked.

When the sweater was on and zipped, Summer smiled and pulled away.

"There. Dressed!"

"Thank you," Libby whispered.

"Well," Kelly started, "She knows her manners," she turned to Libby, "what else do you know?"

"Not much," Libby shrugged. "I just… have these feelings… like I can trust you guys… well, that boy, mostly."

"Alex," Kelly said. "Those feelings are right, though. We are here to help you."

"I don't know anything else," Libby sighed. "Who I am, where I came from… what I'm doing here."

"That's not really as scary as you think," Summer smiled. "I'm trying to figure out who I really am too."

"I guess you have a choice now, Libby," Kelly said. "You don't remember anything… but we know you. We have all your memories with us. Do you want us to tell you who you were… or do you just want to… go on?"

"I don't know," Libby shrugged. "I mean… I just…"

"What if we just gave you the basics?" Summer offered. "You know, stuff like where you are now, how things here work, who you can trust."

"I trust you guys," Libby smiled for the first time as she glanced up at Summer and Kelly.

"We'll also find you a place to stay," Kelly nodded. She turned to Summer, "The guys downstairs were trying to sort that when I left. The only place available is here, really. But…"

"I doubt Dr. K's going to let that happen," Summer sighed.

"Exactly."

"Who is Dr. K?" Libby asked.

While Summer explained the doctor to Libby, Kelly took a seat on the bed and started to think of the options she had with Libby. There truly wasn't much room anywhere, and if Libby was going to stay somewhere, someone she trusted was going to have to be with her; either herself, Summer, or Alex.

The loft was really the best place, considering it housed both Kelly and Alex, but room was tight. So many people were sharing a bed, and with Lily's PTSD there was a strong chance that things could get a little crazy.

Although, Kelly did remember hearing Hunter mutter something along the lines of him getting his own place. It was stretch, but if Hunter was still considering that option, Kelly could ask if she could move in with him and bring Alex and Libby along. It would free up space in the loft, and Libby would have a place to stay with two of the three people she trusted.

She placed her hand on Summer's shoulder as she got up.

"Don't worry about living situations," she said. "I have to talk to Hunter about something."


	46. Colonel Truman

Kelly made her way downstairs, and for some reason her stomach was turning. Actually, it wasn't for some reason. Kelly knew the reason behind it. She was about to ask Hunter if they wanted to get their own place. Normally this was a step in the relationship that wouldn't even be considered until a few months in, but nothing had been normal for anyone since the Venjix took over the planet.

As her foot hit the last step she stopped dead in her tracks. A siren began to wail loudly and lights were flashing. She covered her ears and looked over at the rest of the group.

"That would be us," Tori said to Scott and Flynn while Summer and Libby rushed out form the bedroom. The wailing ceased and the lights turned off as Tori approached the computer.

"What the hell was that?" Summer asked. She led Libby down the stairs before breaking off and joining Tori and her teammates.

"The alarm system," Dr. K answered the yellow Ranger. "It allows us to track infiltrations into the city. At this point there are currently 56 Grinders inside the dome as well as one Attackbot."

"But the shields are up," Flynn frowned. He turned to Tori, "I thought the whole point of the shields was to keep the monsters out."

"They find their way in, Ranger Blue, trust me," Dr. K said. "Why do you think I hired the three of you?"

"Dr. K," Tori started as she looked at the computer screen, "You don't think these Rangers are ready to face an attack bot yet? Do you?"

"The Attack bot is Generation 5," Dr. K stated, though Tori, nor the Rangers, had any idea what that meant. "While the Rangers are progressing quickly, I would rather not leave their fate up to chance."

The doors to the lab opened up, causing all heads to turn. Tori smiled. In the lab on a little table sat her morpher.

"You are to face the Attackbot and assist the Rangers if they need so in battle. Once that is complete you are to return to the Garage…"

"I know, I know," Tori interrupted the doc as she rushed into the lab to grab her morpher. "Come back; live in this hell hole for another year. Fantastic, Dr. K. Can we leave now?"

"Warehouse district," Dr. K sighed. Tori bounced before taking off, with the other Rangers on her heels.

Alex got up and wobbled over to Libby. He took her over to the couches and began introducing her to everyone. While Libby had already admitted to Kelly and Summer that she did trust, to a certain degree, everyone in this room, she was still very withdrawn and hesitant around the large group. She leaned in closer to Alex, almost as if hiding behind him. He was the only one her heart told her she could trust completely.

During the introductions, Kelly walked over to Hunter and pulled him away from the group.

"I have something to ask you," she said.

Hunter shrugged, "Okay, shoot."

"You want to get your own place, right?"

Hunter shot Kelly a strange look for a moment before he smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. A little more privacy for us. You know, so the Kung Fu kittens and Alex don't walk in on us. We can have our own bedroom and…"

"We?" Kelly frowned. She wasn't against this idea, but it did surprise her.

"Yeah," Hunter nodded. "The loft's great for friends so what's the point of me moving out if I don't ask you to move in with me?

This talk was going a lot easier than Kelly initially thought it would. The only obstacle she faced now was getting Hunter to agree to live with Alex and Libby.

"So, what do you say?" Hunter asked her. "I know it's a little soon, but we can make this work. We live together now and we already know each other pretty well. We're not like regular…"

"I have one condition," Kelly interrupted him. "But… I don't know how to say it…"

"I know it's a little mean leaving Alex behind, but he's getting along really well with Casey…"

"That doesn't matter… it's Libby."

"Libby… yeah, the guys and I were thinking…"

"She can't move into the Garage. Dr. K won't let Tori leave, never mind let a strange come in."

"Well, if you and I move out, there will be an extra bed in the loft," Hunter offered. "We can let her live there. The Kittens have agreed to take care of her."

"Take care of her, Alex and Lily?" Kelly frowned. Now that was asking a little too much from people who, realistically, she just met. Lily was their problem to deal with, but Alex and Libby were her employees, and her friends. Chances were that their parents were dead, and if that was the case, Kelly felt it was her responsibility to look after them.

She pointed to the group sitting around the couch and Hunter turned to look. He shrugged and shot her a curious look before Kelly explained.

"She trusts us, Hunter, but she's still scared," Kelly pointed out how Libby was shrinking in closer and closer to Alex. "She trusts Alex, me and Summer… she can't live with Summer… so I was thinking."

"Alex will be with her," Hunter shrugged.

"I was thinking," Kelly stated again after Hunter rudely interrupted her, "maybe, her and Alex could move in with me and… you?"

"Us?" Hunter pointed to himself. Kelly nodded.

"Yes, us. Think about it. A smaller group, more people she trusts… it'll make the transition from dead to alive so much easier if we ease her in."

"Anything easier if you ease into it," Hunter frowned. "Thus the word: ease."

"Did you just say thus?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Can you at least think about it for a little bit?" Kelly asked. "I know it's not perfect but… couples do manage to live together with kids without missing out on anything."

"Most of those couples are old and don't want sex as often as we do!"

"We're not raising babies," Kelly frowned. "These kids are teenagers. They don't want to stay at home. And if they are, they're either blasting the TV or the stereo. They wouldn't hear anything anyways."

"Neither would we!"

"Please, the other night you were basically going at it alone. Don't tell me you really need to hear anything to have a good time."

Hunter kicked the ground with his foot as he sighed, "Fine… I'll think about it."

"Please," Kelly begged. Hunter looked at her and regretted it immediately. He was sure she was pulling the sweet face on purpose. He didn't like it.

"Okay, okay. We'll adopt the kids. Happy now?"

"Very," Kelly smiled. She gave Hunter a kiss before walking back to the couch. Hunter watched her move as she walked away.

"I really need that house…"

-Fight-Flight-

Tori groaned and fell to her knees. All the strength she had she was putting it towards her arms (or rather, her uninjured arm), holding her ninja sword up to keep the Attackbot's arm from coming down and striking her. Of all the things she missed about her Ranger days, being part of a team was one of them. At this point, she couldn't count on much help from Scott, Summer of Flynn. They were still dealing with the Grinders, and would be for a while still.

Just when she felt her strength was going to give, she felt herself being blown away and noticed the robot was also sailing through the air. She landed on her back and struggled to get back up. When she found her bearings she finally noticed Colonel Truman and a group of soldiers with their blasters pointed at the monsters.

"I don't remember discussing your release with Dr. K," the Colonel frowned as she walked over to Tori. She wished the helmet was slightly more transparent, so he could see the look she was giving him.

"Well, unless you want this precious dome of your to be destroyed, you'll deal with it."

Tori could tell where Dr. K's orders to keep her housebound were coming from. She had already picked up on the fact that the Doctor wasn't likely to change her opinion once her mind was made up, but now she was starting to believe that it wasn't entirely Dr. K that was keeping her prisoner, it was the Colonel.

He scoffed, "Just finish this guy."

Tori frowned, "Oh, okay, well, let me just pull out my super secret instant win weapon and I'll end this fight."

"You have…"

"Oh, wait a minute, I left that at home!" Tori bit, "I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashion way."

Tori picked up her Ninja Sword and charged back into battle against the robot while the Colonel and his men continued to fire their blasters. It did make Tori's job a little more difficult than it already was, now that she had to avoid being hit on top of avoid any attacks from the robot, but the blasts were hurting the attackbot.

The problem only arose when the attackbot became angry with the shots being fired on him. He let out a roar and pushed Tori into the ground before charging at the Colonel and his men.

"Fall back!" Colonel Truman yelled. He hated giving out that order, but if he wanted human survivors, he needed to do anything to keep his team safe. The men continued to shoot their blasters as they started running away.

As Colonel, Truman needed to make sure his men were all accounted for. He was last to try and flee the battlefield. Unfortunately for him, the Attackbot had just enough time to catch up to him and grab him. The Colonel struggled as he made a pitiful attempt at breaking free from the robot's grasp. Thankfully, Tori was quick enough to jump in.

"Laser Blaster!" Tori shouted as she fired blasts from her sword. The robot immediately let go of the Colonel and turned to Tori. He jerked forward and unleashed a surprise set of mini cannons from his chest, and fired at Tori. She took all the shots in her Ranger suit before powering down and dropping to her hands and knees.

"Ow…" she muttered, "Didn't see that coming…"

Flynn kicked his final Grinder down before running over to his trainer, "Are you okay?" he asked her. He had never seen anyone power down involuntarily from their Ranger suits, but he knew it wasn't good if that happened.

"I'll be okay," Tori nodded as Flynn held his hand out to her. She shook her head.

"I need you to finish him off," she told him. "Remember that giant laser shooter?"

"Yeah."

"Just like that," Tori said before holding her morpher up to her mouth, "Dr. K, the Turbo Cannon."

Before Flynn had time to question Tori, a giant, blue machine appeared in his hands. He caught it and, surprised by the weight, nearly dropped it.

"Put it over your shoulder and fire it," Tori instructed. "It's just like that giant laser you trained with. Just don't hit Scott or Summer."

"Got it," Flynn nodded. He placed the heavy weapon on his shoulder and found his target. "Turbo Cannon, right?"

"Right."

"Turbo Cannon!" Flynn called out just before pulling the trigger, "Fire!"

The large mass of energy connected with the Attackbot. When the smoke cleared, the robot was in pieces.

Scott and Summer, having finished their fight with the Grinders, rushed over to Flynn.

"You did it!" Summer cheered, jumping slightly.

Flynn lowered his cannon just before he, Scott and Summer removed their helmets.

"Well, you know, when you've got it, you've got it!"

Tori got to her feet and walked over to the Colonel. She helped him up with her good arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

The Colonel nodded before spotting Tori's shoulder. Somewhere in the battle it had started bleeding again. So much so that it was starting to leak out from the collar of her Ninja Uniform.

"You're hurt?" he frowned.

"Yeah," Tori pointed to one of the Colonel's men, Lafleur, "He did this to me, remember?"

"It hasn't gotten better?"

"It was about to," Tori explained, "And then I had to teach these kids how to fight the Grinders in the wastelands, and now I'm here. I think I've ripped it open again."

The Rangers rushed to Tori's side and Summer quickly inspected the wound. She was no better at first aid than the boys, but she had seen Andrews patching up a few nasty injuries from his sparring sessions with her.

"We've still got the stuff in the garage to clean this up," Summer told Tori. She pulled Tori away from the Colonel, "C'mon. Dr. K probably wants you back anyways."

While Summer, Flynn and Tori walked away from the Colonel, Scott approached his father.

"I know you probably don't see it, but Tori's not a threat," he said. The Colonel looked down at him with a strange and angry look. "She's been working her ass off, for free, to train us Rangers to protect this city. I mean, sometimes I do question her training tactics, but I know that there's a lot of people here who do trust her with their lives."

"A decision has been made, Scott. We've worked out an agreement..."

"With all due respect, _Colonel_, I don't think this arrangement qualifies as an agreement. You gave Tori an ultimatum."

"_Miss Hanson_ had a choice."

"Rot in prison for life or work for free training someone else's Rangers," Scott spat back. "She can't even leave the Garage unless she gets permission to do so!"

"Scott!"

"Either way, I know who I trust more, Colonel, and it sure as hell isn't you," Scott shot his father a disgusted look before he turned his back on the Colonel and rushed after Tori and his friends. He hadn't been joking all those times he made remarks about talking to his father. In his eyes, Tori wasn't a threat.

In fact, the way Scott saw it, Tori was less of a threat than the Colonel. Of course, the only reason she was training him and the others was because she had been given that job, but her priority was to defend the planet, and the Rangers. The Colonel was doing his job because it was just that. A job.

That was all life was to him. A series of jobs and tasks that needed to be completed.

Work.

Love.

Parenting.

It was the perfect attitude for his military lifestyle. But it clashed with the many other lifestyles a husband, father and friend was supposed to have. Scott could only hope that this little _chat_ would open his father's eyes, even a little bit.


	47. Life Goes On

Defeated, Hunter pointed to the living room of one of many houses he, Kelly and the kids had visited today. Surprisingly enough, it had been rather easy applying for a move in the ever developing city of Corinth. All Hunter had to do was talk to City Hall and fill in a form that clarified his reasons for the move, and the city assigned him a set of houses he could choose from that would suit his needs based on how many roommates or family members he would have as well as the number of dependents. Hunter was also surprised when he had seen that most of the houses given had three or four bedrooms. When he originally wanted to move, he imagined himself and Kelly living in a decent sized apartment. Not him, Kelly and two kids living in an actual house.

The best part was that there was no mortgage to pay off. Because it was still within the first three months of the original worldwide evacuation, housing was completely free!

The only hard part seemed to be compromising with Kelly and the kids. Even Libby-of-little-words had a lot to say on a new place to live.

"I like it!" Alex smiled as he stepped into the living room. "A couch, a TV, video games and voilà: my paradise!"

"Video games?" Libby frowned as she turned to Alex. He nodded his head and whispered to her gently.

"I'll teach you when Hunter and Kelly get us a game console. It's wicked fun."

"Go check out the bedrooms," Kelly laughed as she pointed to the stairs. She wanted to speak with Hunter alone.

"Race ya, Libs," Alex smirked. Even with his limp he managed to run up the stairs. Libby turned to Kelly, as if waiting for the okay. Kelly nodded her head and suddenly Libby was off.

Hunter leaned against the wall as he watched the kids, "Okay, you do get points for that."

"For what?" Kelly asked.

"You were right about Libby needing to be with a smaller family, and people she trusts," Hunter told her with a smile. "She's still kinda… newborn, I guess, but everyone knows she's starting to find her place and figure herself out."

"I'm just happy she's toilet trained now," Kelly responded with a laugh. "These last few days have been really awkward."

"Yep," Hunter nodded before turning to look at the room again. "So, what do you think? Please say yes or I might shoot myself to end this miserable house tour."

"I like it," Kelly smiled as she smacked Hunter for the comment. "It's not too big, comfortable and already semi-furnished. If we don't splurge on classy and just stick with functional, I'm pretty sure we can furnish this place without breaking the city budget."

"So yes?" Hunter asked hopefully. Kelly had been having issues with all the others houses they had visited. He was hoping this would be the one.

"It's got three bathrooms up here!" Alex called from the top of the stairs.

Kelly laughed and nodded her head, "Yes."

-Fight-Flight-

There were mixed emotions floating around the Garage as the Colonel paced before Tori, Blake and the Rangers. It was supposed to be a normal day. A few hours of training, lunch, a few hours of downtime, dinner, late night training and then bed. But the Colonel's sudden and unexpected arrival had messed up the schedule almost entirely.

He had arrived midway through the morning training session, cutting it short. When asked what he was doing in the Garage, the Colonel announced he was here for observation. When asked what he was observing, the Colonel gave no answer. Instead, he asked Tori why she had a friend visiting if her agreement clearly stated her sole responsibility was to train the Rangers. Tori spend the rest of the morning assuring the Colonel that Blake's visits had little to no affect on the Rangers' training schedule, and that she was always careful to schedule her personal time with Blake around her Trainer duties.

Lunch rolled around and the Colonel observed the Rangers and Tori carefully. He took notes on their interactions with each other, as well as how they responded to their "mentor". He was also watching Tori's cooking like a hawk, which Blake considered to be a little weird, considering the Colonel had packed his own lunch and wouldn't be eating what Tori had cooked.

Instead of the afternoon serving as downtime, the Colonel demanded that the night time training be moved ahead so he could observe. Tori had no real issue with this matter, but Dr. K needed a lot of persuading. In her own words: "Night time training is supposed to be done at night. Hence the name. If it were in the afternoon, it would no longer be night time training. It would be afternoon training and the Rangers would miss out on a crucial day of night time training"

But, the doctor was convinced and the Colonel did get to observe the Rangers in training.

Finally, in this moment, the Rangers, Tori and Blake were awaiting an explanation for the Colonel's sudden appearance.

Finally, the larger man spoke.

"After much thought, I have drawn a conclusion about an agreement I made which, I've now realised, wasn't exactly a fair agreement towards the other party."

Scott looked up. Was it possible his father had actually acknowledged him and his opinion?

"I've spent many days sitting on this one thought," the Colonel continued, "And it is my belief that I have strongly misjudged you, Miss Hanson."

Colonel Truman walked over to Tori and held his hand out. Tori stood up from the couch and took his hand.

"I'm now aware of how overprotective I was to the city of Corinth city. You must understand that my intentions were never to make you out as the enemy, but rather to protect the only surviving city on Earth, as well as its inhabitants. But I see now that you never did pose a threat and it if my belief that you deserve this."

The Colonel reached into his pocket before pulling out an ID with Tori's name and photo printed on it. He handed it to her with a smile.

"Congratulations, Miss Hanson, you are now a free citizen of Corinth city and will be allowed to enjoy all the luxuries this city has to offer. Including a paying job as trainer to the RPM team until your initial agreement of one year has reached its end."

"I can live with that," Tori smiled. "Thank you Colonel."

Scott stood up, "So, dad, you just decided that… all on your own?"

"Not now, Scott," the Colonel said dismissively. "I believe Miss Hanson would like to enjoy a night on the town with Mr. Bradley."

"I'm not exactly bored with nights in," Blake said with a smirk. Tori frowned at him.

"I am! I want to go out!"

"Seriously, dad," Scott tried again, "You just had an epiphany? Suddenly you realised the truth?"

"Like I said, son," the Colonel spat, "I spent days thinking of this matter. My final decisions was well thought out and discussed with some of my men."

"But…"

"Scott, that's enough," the Colonel stated firmly. He grabbed his things and turned to Tori before leaving, "Enjoy the freedom."

Once the Colonel was gone, Scott kicked the bottom of the couch and then stormed off upstairs to his room. Tori looked up and watched as he disappeared behind his door. She knew what was bothering him.

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed towards the exit.

"Go! Have fun!" Summer said as she pushed Tori.

"We'll make sure this place is still standing when you get back!" Flynn added as he pushed Blake.

The couple was shoved out of the Garage and the door slammed shut behind them.

"Well then," Blake said. "Looks like some teenagers are happy mommy's out of the house."

"Yeah, but Doc K is still watching their every move," Tori smirked. She grabbed Blake's arm, "C'mon. Let's get out of here! I want to know what the city looks like!"

-Fight-Flight-

"So, when are you guys moving out?" Theo asked at the dinner table as everyone sat around eating the dinner RJ had made.

Under the table, Fran kicked Theo's leg, "Theo!"

"I meant that nicely," Theo frowned. "But seriously, how soon are you guys going to leave?"

Hunter chuckled slightly and swallowed the food in his mouth before answering, "The paperwork should be done tomorrow. So the day after… or tomorrow if all goes well. But we still need furniture."

"We can go shopping tomorrow," Kelly suggested. "We'll be moving out soon anyways."

"Need any help?" Dominic offered.

"Yes please," Hunter nodded. He knew he could persuade the ninjas to help him out (and by persuade her meant threaten), but the more the merrier (and the faster he could move out).

"Do you like the new place?" RJ asked Libby. In the last few days he had made it his mission to try and help her open up. He hadn't been very successful, but Libby was a little more responsive than she had been originally.

"Yeah. It's nice."

"Do you have your own room?"

Libby was saved when the front door opened and Lily walked in, home from her first day of therapy. All eyes turned to her, curious at how her treatment was going, even though it was only in the starting stages.

"You're back!" Casey called. He scooted his chair down so Lily could join the group at the dinner table. She nodded.

"Yep."

"How was it?" Theo asked her.

"Very chatty," Lily answered while Fran got up to grab the cheetah a plate.

"Do you think it'll help?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "I mean, I think in the long run it'll help… but this therapist seems to think I just need to talk things through in a safe environment. He wants to wait a few sessions to see if he should prescribe me any kind of medication."

"Medication?" Dom frowned.

"Antidepressants and tranquilizers," Lily answered him. "Antidepressants for, well, depression, and tranquilizers for panic attacks."

"Why doesn't he prescribe them just in case?" Alex asked. "What's the point of being sick if you can't get the good drugs?"

"Alex," Kelly snapped.

"He says I'm already further along than most of the patients he's ever encountered. I've already been exposed to my fear and overcame it with positive results. He thinks psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour treatment are all I really need now. You know… just talk things out so that I realise my fears are irrational, change my behaviour responses and my thoughts and blah, blah, blah."

"You're not going to pull that_ I'm all cured_ stunt, are you?" Casey frowned. "You don't seem very enthusiastic about going."

"It's okay, I guess," Lily shrugged. "I do want to go back. But why talk to a stranger when I can talk to you guys? It's the same thing."

"He can help you in ways we can't," RJ assured his cub. "Did you mention the book you've been working on?"

"What book?" Casey frowned.

Lily nodded, "I did. He wants to see it. It'll help him get inside my head and it'll really highly the changes I need to make involving my thoughts and behaviours."

"Does he think it's a good idea?"

"What book?" Casey asked again.

Lily nodded again, "Yeah. He's the kind of guy who's convinced that all people need is someone to talk to, you know. Medication as a last resort. Try to get to the root of the problem in a natural way before you start injecting people with chemicals. It's stuff like that. So the focus is more: '_How are you feeling? How does that make you feel? How do you see yourself?_'"

"Sounds very self-centered," Alex laughed. "You just talk about yourself for an hour?"

The young boy turned to Hunter, "Hey, maybe you would like that!"

"Vegetables. Eat. Now!" Hunter growled.

"Anyways, I've talked about myself enough. How was house hunting?" Lily asked. She really wanted to turn the focus away from herself and onto someone else. She was never comfortable with putting all the attention on herself. It was why the therapy felt weird to her. She preferred putting other people first, and helping them with their problems. It was strange for her to ask people for help and to spend so much time on herself, especially with a stranger.

"We found the perfect house!" Alex smirked. "My own bedroom, my own bathroom, and a video game room!"

"A living room," Kelly corrected the boy. "You'll get a video game console in the summer, once school's done."

Alex' eyes widened. He couldn't believe his ears.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arm around Libby, "Kelly, are you really going to deprive sweet, innocent Libby from the joy that is virtual life? How else will she experience the wonders of guns, violence and all that other educational stuff?"

"She'll live, Alex. Besides, you'll both have schoolwork to focus on."

"You're sending Libby to school?" Fran asked, finding it a little strange. Libby was basically an infant in a teenager's body. School wasn't the place for her.

"It's a few weeks before they get started," Kelly nodded. "Libby should be ready for special classes by then, right kiddo?"

Libby smiled and nodded at Kelly before looking back at her plate again. Kelly turned back to the group.

"She's a lot less this when it's just the four of us," she assured her friends. "She learns quickly. It's actually more reminding her how things work."

"She already figured out how to cripple me so I lose races," Alex muttered as he glared at Libby. She smiled and stuck her tongue out. Alex pouted, "My fake leg is not a toy."

"I won fair and square," Libby said quietly. It was barely more than a whisper. But it was good enough to show the others that Libby was making progress in her development in her regular day to day life.


	48. The Robot Invasion

Kelly leaned into Hunter with a mug of coffee in her hands. It was early morning, the first morning in the new house, and the small family was getting themselves into a regular routine. Hunter would be awake early and would start on coffee and breakfast while Kelly got the kids out of bed and helped Libby get ready for the day.

Alex would walk out of his room and go straight to the couch. He would sit, with his arms resting on his knees, and he would stare at the TV while moving his thumbs. It was a strange morning ritual.

"What's he doing?" she asked her boyfriend. Hunter shook his head and shrugged.

"I have no clue," he turned to Kelly, "He takes after you, though. Crazy."

Kelly hit Hunter on the arm before calling to Alex, "Whatcha doing, kid?"

"Making a point," Alex answered. "I need video games!"

"I told you, once school breaks for summer," Kelly frowned. She turned to the stairs as Libby walked down and quickly noticed the girl had put her shirt on backwards. She tilted her head sideways and laughed, "Libs."

"What?" Libby asked. Kelly pointed to her shirt and Libby looked down. "Oh… I couldn't figure it out."

"Come here," Kelly pulled Libby's arms out of the sleeves and quickly spun the shirt around so it was on the right way. She guided Libby's arms back through the sleeves and smiled, "You'll get the hang of this, trust me."

"Most teenage girls your age know too much about clothes," Hunter nodded.

Libby sat down at the table, "What's age?"

"Uh," Hunter frowned and quickly looked to Kelly for help. Kelly shrugged.

"Before the whole incident you were seventeen," Kelly answered. "Now, um, I guess you're still seventeen. That's an age..."

Libby shook her head, "That means nothing to me."

"Live a year, then you'll understand," Hunter laughed. He opened the fridge now that everyone was downstairs for breakfast but noticed it was empty. After all the furniture shopping they had done, they had forgotten to pick up groceries. "Well, the fridge is still clean."

"What?" Alex turned around on the couch and looked at his two "parents". "No… there's no food?"

"None," Hunter shook his head sadly. He opened the fridge again, hoping maybe magic did exist. "Yep… nothing."

"We're going to starve!" Alex cried out as he slid off the couch and landed on the floor. "How is there no food? How do we have a fridge and no food?"

"The one detail we overlooked," Kelly sighed. Thankfully she was already dressed and ready to step out into the world. She grabbed her bag from the closet, "I'll run out and do some groceries. You guys can wait a little while, can't you?"

"No," Hunter and Alex both answered. Libby shrugged.

Kelly rolled her eyes, "Why is the reborn child the easiest to take care of? I'll be back in an hour or so. Just… eat each other or something if you're that hungry."

Kelly walked out the door and the three remaining housemates exchanged looks.

"Um, was she serious?" Libby asked.

Alex shrugged, "No idea… but I say we eat Hunter first!"

"Hey! Whoa!"

"Sorry," Alex shrugged, "You're daddy. It's your job to provide for us kids."

"She wasn't serious," Hunter assured Libby when he saw a disgusted look on her face. He then turned to Alex, "And no eating me! We'll wait!"

"Hungry!" Alex called. He held his mouth open, indicating his point.

"Okay, okay… um… there's gum in my jacket…"

Alex didn't need to be told twice. Gum wasn't food, but it was close enough. He jumped up from the floor and raced over to the closet to pick through Hunter's pockets.

-Fight-Flight-

Kelly wasn't sure how other families did it with only one shopping cart as she piled in the groceries and lugged the metallic cart around the store. It didn't seem like it would hold enough to feed a hungry teenager and the two kids.

Of course, most families didn't have a completely empty fridge. Kelly was grabbing everything from the shelves and sticking it into her cart.

There was no way she was getting out of here without some kind of assistance.

In fact, there was no way she was getting to the next aisle without another shopping cart in tow. Hers was already full.

"I should have brought someone with me," Kelly moaned before noticing a store employee pushing a cart. Her eyes widened and she rushed over. She pointed to the cart, "Do you mind?"

"Go ahead," the employee smiled; relieved he didn't have to push the cart any further. Kelly grinned happily as she pulled this one behind her and pushed the other cart. It was difficult with only one hand, but Kelly managed.

"Some poor cashier is going to hate me," Kelly whispered to herself as she started loading the dairy products into her second cart. She was just finding room for the multiple cartons of eggs when she heard a loud scream coming from the front of the store. Terrified, but also curious, Kelly left her cart and darted down the aisle to the front of the store, where she noticed a flood of Grinders taking orders from what appeared to be a well groomed robot.

"Master Venjix would like them all!" the robot shouted as Grinders started grabbing as many people as possible. Kelly realised she was in trouble and tried to search for a way out. Even if the Rangers arrived, there were so many Grinders in the store that it was very likely they succeeded in kidnapping a bunch of humans.

She found an emergency fire exit on the side of the store and started making her way over. She was only a few feet away when she noticed she wasn't the only one who had seen the door. A young man and women were also running this way. The young man seemed to be clutching onto the young girl and leading her, while she demanded her tell her what was going on.

Kelly pushed the door and held it open while waving the boy and girl over. The boy thanked her and made sure the girl was through the door first.

When the girl was out, he insisted Kelly go through the door first. Kelly wasn't going to refuse. The less they argued about courtesy, the faster they would all leave. But just as she stepped outside, she heard another scream. She barely had time to figure out what it was before feeling something hit her over the head.

-Fight-Flight-

Scott, Summer, Flynn and Tori ran as quickly as they could to the grocery store, very frustrated. Somehow, an army of Grinders managed to infiltrate the city without setting off any alarms until they had arrived at their destination. Thankfully, they had decided against spreading out, making it easier for the Rangers to find them all, but it also made them suspicious. They must have come for a reason.

Tori stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the Grinders were leading civilians away from the grocery store and into giant trucks.

"How did no one pick up on that?" Flynn asked as he too noticed the trucks, "Don't they just scream creepy to you guys?"

"Let's just stop them before they can take any more people," Scott ordered. He pulled out his morpher and looked at Tori. She nodded.

"Ninja storm! Ranger form!"

"RPM get in gear!"

Once morphed, the Rangers jumped into action. The RPM Rangers went after their usual opponents, the Grinders, while Tori searched through the crowd of robots for the big, bad monster leading them.

"Kilobyte," she growled when she finally spotted him. He turned around.

"Aw, the blue Ranger," he said before pushing back what should have been hair, had he not been a robot, "So nice to finally meet you again."

"What do you want with these people?" Tori demanded.

"Master Venjix needs them as test subjects. He's going to build the perfect robot!"

"Not on my watch! Power of water!"

-Fight-Flight-

When Kelly came to, the first thing she heard was the sound of Grinders creaking as they moved. She could felt herself bouncing, as if driving down a bumpy road. She opened her eyes and saw one of the Grinders was standing over her and staring down. Scared, Kelly looked around, hoping she could find out where she was.

She saw she was inside a moving truck, which explained the bouncing. And she could also see that she was lying at the very back of the truck. On one side of her was the boy she had helped at the grocery store. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was turned and facing the girl he had been with. He was explaining to her everything that was going on.

On her other side, Kelly saw the truck was wide open. If she could roll past the Grinder, she could roll right out of the truck and hopefully make it back to the dome on the horizon before it disappeared from sight. She could barely feel the rest of her body, but used whatever power she still had to force herself to roll.

The Grinder standing over her quickly placed his foot on her side to keep her from rolling anymore, but Kelly's lower body fell out of the truck and her feet began to drag on the ground. She grabbed the Grinder's leg with her hands when suddenly she felt one of her legs getting caught on something on the ground and she was pulled right out of the truck, taking the Grinder with her.

She hit the ground hard and rolled. Had her body not been partially numb from whatever the robots had done to her, she would have really been in pain. She let go of the Grinder and watched as the truck drove away.

The Grinder, still intact, looked to Kelly before he turned to look at the fleeing truck. Quickly making his decision, he started running after the truck. He let out little robotic beeps as he did, which Kelly imagined meant: "Wait up!"

With the Grinder gone, Kelly had one less thing to worry about. She struggled to sit up, thankful that whatever the robots had injected her with wasn't powerful enough to keep her sedated completely. She looked down at her hands and noticed there was a needle stuck into the back of her hand and it was attached to a long tube that was ripped at the end.

Kelly pulled the needle from her hand and rubbed the spot where it had been inserted, hoping now the drugs would begin to wear off.

Until then, Kelly knew she was too weak to move. It had taken all her strength just to roll out of the truck. There was no way she was going to be able to walk back to the city until she was feeling a little less dizzy.

To add to her already sickly feeling, Kelly's stomach rumbled loudly.

"I'm hungry," she moaned as she dropped back into the dirt and laid there."

-Fight-Flight-

"Grinders are easier to fight when they are distracted," Summer called out as she ripped a young boy from a Grinder's arms and then kicked the Grinder in the chest, sending him to the ground. She held onto the boy and looked around. She couldn't set him down. Surely another Grinder would pick him up and she would be right back where she started.

"We've got enough!" she heard Kilobyte shout and the Grinders suddenly dropped everything and everyone they were holding before running off and following Kilobyte.

Summer turned to her teammates with a look. They both shrugged. They were just as confused as she was.

Tori approached them, "I don't like what just happened," she frowned.

"Neither do I," Summer nodded in agreement as she shifted the boy from one hip to the other. He was terrified and clung to her desperately.

"Maybe Dr. K's figured something out," Scott suggested. "Should we head back, or go after them?"

"There's too many of them," Tori sighed. "I wish we didn't have to do this, but we're going to have to leave them until we know what the hell's going on."

"Alright," Flynn nodded, "Let's pack up and head back!"

"Mommy!" the kid shouted and held his hands out as an older woman ran over and grabbed him from Summer's arms. She thanked Summer and the other Rangers before walking away with her boy.

"Now let's go," Summer said.


	49. Kelly's Rescue

"I don't think we can just ignore it, Doc," Tori frowned as her argument with the doctor continued. Ever since they had returned to the Garage from their fight with Kilobyte and the Grinders, Tori and the doc had been going at it. Refusing to let the Rangers venture out into the wastes, Dr. K had insisted that they forget about the sudden appearance of the Venjix army inside the dome and they focus on improving their battle technique so that they can better defend the city next time.

But Tori wasn't about to let that happen. She knew for a fact that hundreds of people had been kidnapped and dragged out into the wastelands and knew that it was her duty as a Ranger to do something about it.

"Even after your father grants her freedom, she's still butting heads with the doc," Flynn whispered to Scott. The Red Ranger groaned at the mention of his father. As much as it killed him, he wanted nothing more to do with his father until the Colonel could truly learn to appreciate his efforts and act like a father. He was tired of this military act.

Flynn heard the grunt and frowned. He turned to face Scott, "You okay?"

"Peachy," Scott answered as he shifted in his seat. "You know that idea my father had… it wasn't his idea."

"But he said…"

"After that fight, where my father helped us out, I told him what I thought of Tori. I told him how she wasn't a threat and I drilled that idea into his head. He had me to thank, and he wasn't even going to give me the time of day!"

"Ah…"

"I'm just tired of always trying to reach out to him… you know?" Scott frowned and Flynn nodded to show he understood. "I'll work with him. I'll put up with him. He needs us and we need him if we want to keep Corinth city alive… but aside from that…"

"He's your dad," Flynn told the Red Ranger. "You're not going to be able to give up on him like that."

"I just want to focus on this," Scott sighed. "At least he can't tell me what to do here. I'm leader of this team."

Scott looked back at the rest of the RPM team, where Tori was still fighting with the doc. He sighed and watched, unsure of what to do. He wasn't fond of going out into the wastelands, but he also didn't want to leave the prisoners behind.

"Why can't we just patrol the outside of the dome?" Summer suggested, trying to find the peace. "The Grinders were tough, but they may have left behind some clues or maybe some people managed to get away. If we find anything, maybe we can use that to get one step ahead of the Venjix."

"I know all I need to know about the Venjix," Dr. K stated. "Trust me, there's nothing you Rangers need to focus on."

"He's a learning Virus, doc," Tori said. "We need to stay one step ahead of him at all times. I agree with Summer. We should at least do a parole. We owe that much to the people in this city, and to any survivors out there."

Defeated, Dr. K sighed over the speakers, "I'll do a search. I'll see if I can pick up any life signatures from in here."

"We can take Scott's new car," Flynn suggested as he patted his red friend on the back. He hopped the chance to ride in the new car would cheer Scott up. It was only a few days old, but it was already Scott's pride and joy. A nice, red sports car.

"It won't work if we do pick up something, or someone in the wastelands. We'll need your truck, Flynn," Tori said.

"Why not both?" Summer suggested. "Scott's car can go pretty fast and it can get out there and find people long before Flynn's truck can ever made it. We can pack some first aid supplies and a survival kit in the back. Then, Flynn's truck can transport them back here."

"Fine," Tori sighed. Flynn and Scott jumped up, with their keys already in hand as they rushed over to their respective vehicles. Tori turned back to Dr. K's screen. "Anything?"

"One life signature. Very faint. It might not be worth it to go out there…"

"It's worth it to try," Tori interrupted. She looked at Summer who nodded in agreement. "I'll go with Flynn."

Summer nodded again and followed her instructions with a smile on her face. There was something about Tori's last statement that really hit her in a good way. It was always worth trying to save a life.

-Fight-Flight-

Alex stared at the clock. Kelly had been gone for hours and gum wasn't helping his hunger pains anymore. Hunter had long since gone to work renovating JKP and had probably picked up something to eat on his way, leaving the kids to starve.

Libby had been busy exploring the house. She wanted to figure out how things worked and what purpose they served. Alex was doing an okay job at making sure she didn't electrocute herself or severely injure herself in any other way, but for the most part, Libby was learning many of her lessons the hard way.

"Ouch!" she cried before putting her finger in her mouth and glaring down at the table. Alex finally looked up from the clock.

"What did you do now?"

"That blood stuff is coming out of my finger," Libby said. She held her finger up for Alex to see. "It's this thin white thing that did it this time."

"Paper cut," Alex nodded. "Those hurt."

"I don't like paper, either."

"Newsflash, Libs," Alex chuckled, "Most things on earth can kill you. Why don't you wait for Kelly to get home before you do anymore exploring?"

"I'm just curious. I'm learning a lot, though."

"You learn quickly," Alex muttered.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. It's a good thing. Especially seeing as at your age you should know most of this stuff by now."

"Oh," Libby said. She looked around the room, wanting to discover something else. That's when she noticed Alex had been staring at a round circle on the wall. It had numbers all around it, going from one to twelve. It also had three sticks coming from the middle and going in all different directions. There was a short one, which looked like it was pointing at the ten. There was a really long one, that was pointing somewhere between the five and the six. Finally, there was a thin one that was moving constantly. Libby couldn't keep up with it. It was almost as if it had no idea which number to point at, so it tried to point to all of them.

After a few minutes of staring at the strange object, Libby turned to Alex, "What's that?"

"A clock," he answered her.

"What's a clock?"

"It tells you what time it is."

"Oh," Libby answered. She turned back to the clock, "What time is it?"

There was no reply. Confused, Libby looked back to Alex.

"Are you trying to figure out how to fix it?"

"It doesn't actually tell you the time," Alex explained. "You have to learn how to read it."

"There are no words," Libby frowned. "Just numbers."

Alex sat up, "Libs, let me tell you about the concept of time."

-Fight-Flight-

The car ride was silent. Scott was still bothered by his father and Summer could sense something was up. She didn't want to force Scott to talk, but couldn't get him on another topic. Every time she tried, the conversation would only last a few minutes before it fell into a long silence.

But she persisted.

"What do you think Venjix wanted all those people for?" she asked.

"I don't know," Scott shrugged. "He probably just wanted to kill them. He wants to rid the Earth of humans and take over with his evil robot empire, remember?"

"Yeah, but he was collecting people, not killing them," Summer frowned. "If I wanted to kill people, I would walk into the grocery stores guns blazing. I wouldn't be dragging them off."

"Hopefully we can find out," Scott sighed.

"Hopefully," Summer nodded.

And there it was again. The silence. If there was anything Summer wanted to kill, it was that silence.

She was about to bring up another topic, a little closer to Scott's issue, when he suddenly hit the brakes and stopped the car.

"I found her!" he shouted to Summer as he reached into the back seat, where there was an emergency kit packed.

"Already?" Summer frowned, glancing at her watch. They hadn't been driving for long.

"Really," Scott answered her as he got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He rushed over to where the person was laying and Summer was right behind him.

"Kelly!" she shouted when she recognised the person. She dropped to her knees beside the red head. Thankfully, Kelly was still conscious, if just barely.

"What happened?" Scott asked. He pulled out water from the kit. The sun was hiding behind a sky of pollution but it was so hot out here that he was sure Kelly was dehydrated from sweat alone. Summer checked her over for injuries. There were a few gashes, scrapes and bruises, but nothing appeared serious.

Of course, appearances could be deceiving.

"Kelly, what happened?" Scott asked again when he didn't get a reply.

Flynn's truck pulled up in the background and the two blue Rangers hopped out as soon as it came to a full stop. Tori rushed over and picked up the pace when she recognised Kelly.

"What…?"

"I already asked," Scott answered. "She's not answering."

"Kelly?" Tori knelt down and leaned in closer to Kelly. She touched her friend's face, "Can you hear me?"

While Tori and Scott tried to get an answer out of Kelly, Summer stood up and walked over to Flynn. He was already using his morpher to get in contact with Dr. K.

"You told him?" she asked the blue Ranger when he tucked his morpher away. Flynn nodded.

"He's going to have an ambulance waiting at the border when we get back."

He looked down at Kelly. He was worried about. But as he watched her, something caught his eye. He walked around Kelly, Scott and Tori and reached down to pick it up. He showed it to Summer.

"A needle."

"Any clue what's inside it?" Summer asked. Flynn looked.

"Nothing, as far as I can tell."

"It must be from the Grinders," Summer stated.

"Let's just get her back," Tori said. She looked to Flynn and Scott and the two boys got the message. They lifted Kelly up carefully and carried her over to the back of Flynn's truck

Tori looked at Summer while the boys were doing this, "You and Scott race back to Corinth and tell the ambulance she's out, she's hurt, and apparently she's been drugged."

"Got it. Out, hurt, drugged."

"Go, fast!" Tori shouted.

"Scott!" Summer called to the red Ranger as she raced to the car. Scott did the same. Tori jumped into the truck with Flynn, but sat in the backseat to keep an eye on Kelly.

"Drive!" she barked to the blue Ranger.


	50. Hospital Woes

Alex gnawed on the coffee table, desperate for some food. He knew very well that he could simply go out to a restaurant or somewhere else and purchase food, but he had been waiting for Kelly to get home. He expected her back hours ago, but she still hadn't shown. His stomach was growling in protest, but he knew he needed to wait.

Libby watched him curiously, "Is it actually made out of coffee?"

"Sadly, no," Alex answered. He pulled his mouth away from the table. It was then he heard a click from the front door before it opened up. He jumped up, "Finally!"

"I'm home!" Hunter called. He set his jacket on the coat rack and walked straight to the kitchen, "RJ didn't need us for the full day, thankfully. JKP is really coming along. So what is there to eat?"

He opened the friends and reached inside to grab anything but caught only air. Confused, he reached in again with the same results.

"Did you guys eat all the food?" he asked the two teenagers. Alex shook his head before going back to munching on the coffee table.

"We haven't had anything to eat all day," Libby answered Hunter. "Kelly never came home."

"She…?" worry filled Hunter. He walked back to the front door and checked the bowl for Kelly's keys. They were still missing.

"She's not home?" Hunter asked. "Did she call or anything? Leave a message?"

"The phone never rang," Alex shrugged. "Besides, why would she call? It's not like Corinth gave us free cell phones yet."

Hunter rushed over to the phone and picked up the receiver. He started dialling his friends' numbers, hoping they knew where Kelly was. It was unlike her to leave anyone starving for hours, never mind the kids.

"What's a phone?" Libby asked Alex while Hunter tried to figure out why the phone wasn't ringing at all after he entered in Dustin's phone number.

"It's a communication device. It's so that you can talk to people without looking at them. Or so you can call and explain why you're letting two teenagers starve to…"

"Who unplugged the phone?" Hunter called as he held the cord for the phone up in the air. Alex turned to Libby and pointed.

"She was exploring!"

"Alex," Hunter growled. He plugged the phone back into the wall. "You're supposed to keep an eye on her."

"Hungry!" Alex frowned.

"Did I do something wrong?" Libby asked. Hunter pressed the phone to his ear, hoping he could maybe recover any messages that he been left when the phone was unplugged.

"No, don't worry Libs, it's…" Hunter trailed off. The phone had taken messages while it had been unplugged and there was one message from Tori regarding Kelly. He didn't listen to the entire thing. He only needed to hear a few key words to understand something was wrong. He slammed the phone back down on the table and ran to the door. He grabbed his jacket, as well as Alex' and Kelly's for Libby. He tossed the coats to the teens. "Hurry up!"

"What's going on?" Libby asked as she held up the jacket and tried to figure out how it worked. It looked like the sweater Summer had given her. Maybe it would go on the same way.

"Something happened," Hunter stated. "Kelly's in the hospital."

"What?" Alex asked. He grabbed the jacket from Libby and draped it over her shoulders, "No time for that! Just hurry up!"

-Fight-Flight-

Kelly laid peacefully in the hospital bed, still unconscious. This worried Dustin greatly. He had been called to the hospital by Tori shortly after she and the Rangers returned from the Wastelands with Kelly. Tori told him he couldn't get a hold of Hunter or the kids and needed him to be with her while she and the Rangers talked with Dr. K and the Colonel about what had happened.

At first Kelly seemed fine. She had been awake when she was first found in the wastelands but quickly and suddenly slipped into unconsciousness. The doctors were still going over the needle that had been found beside her. It was safe to believe that whatever was in the needle had been injected into Kelly's body. Until they figured that out, they couldn't give Kelly anymore drugs.

Dustin was also worried about her injuries. Until Kelly woke up, she couldn't tell anyone how she had gotten them. The best thing they could do was guess that she had obtained them while trying to escape from the Grinders and Kilobyte, but that was it. The doctors were doing the best they could to keep her comfortable until they could really get a good luck at her and figure out what had happened.

Out in the waiting room, Tori and the Rangers were sitting close together in the seats. There was a laptop on Tori's lap with both a video image of the Colonel and Dr. K's regular screen. After going over how they had found Kelly, and in what condition, they were making assumptions on what could have happened.

"I doubt they would want to kill their prisoners, Colonel," Tori stated after the Colonel suggested that it was useless to worry about people who were possibly already dead. "Aside from a few worrisome injuries, Kelly seems to be okay physically, and I doubt Venjix has the patience to wait to kill hundreds of people from the inside out."

"I think he wanted them for something more," Flynn suggested.

"That's what Kilobyte told me," Tori nodded. She looked at the screen, "When I was fighting him at the store, he told me he needed them to build a perfect robot… or something like that. We just need to figure out what that means…"

"Sir!" the Rangers and Dr. K heard a voice coming from the Colonel's end of the conversation. On his screen they could see a soldier approaching Truman.

"Make it quick, son. This is important."

"Corporal Hicks and Vasquez haven't shown up, sir," the soldier announced. "We can't…"

"Is that it?" the Colonel asked. "Deal with them when they get back. There are more important things right now."

"Yes, sir," the soldier saluted before walking off. The Colonel let out a long sigh.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Where were we?"

"Venjix using humans as test subjects," Tori said.

"Colonel… I don't mean to poke my nose into your business or anything…" Summer frowned, "but, um… is it possible that maybe your two soldiers were abducted as well?"

"Do you think I know?" the Colonel frowned. Half the city just went missing. Why the hell was everyone at the grocery store anyways?"

"Buy one, get one free," Dr. K answered. "Apparently it's a very popular sale. People would rather spend their days getting twice as much for half the cost, even if the city is still paying for their necessities."

"What do we know so far about the abductions?" the Colonel asked. "Aside from Venjix possibly needing the humans alive."

"That's it, Colonel," Tori sighed. "Until Kelly wakes up, that's all I can tell you. If she remembers anything. Who knows what the Grinders really did to her."

"When she wakes up let me know," the Colonel said. "I'll have a word with her…"

"Sorry, Colonel," Scott shook his head, "You're not exactly the calm, soothing voice she might want to hear when she wakes up."

"Excuse me?" the Colonel frowned as he narrowed his eyes at his son. Scott looked at his father.

"We'll take care of this. You just worry about your soldiers," Scott said. He closed the laptop on both the Colonel and Dr. K. Tori looked to him.

"I know you have issues with your father, but…"

"We're here already and Kelly's your friend. She'll probably tell you more than she'll tell my father. Isn't that what we need? As much information as possible?"

"I guess," Tori shrugged. She put the laptop back in its bag and when she looked back up she saw Hunter, Alex and Libby rushing into the room. She waved them over.

"Where is she?" Hunter demanded.

"Where were you?" Tori asked. "I called you first but no one answered."

"Libby was exploring," Alex answered. "It's my fault, really. Never let a hungry Libby roam."

"At least I wasn't eating the table," Libby whispered.

"Cafeteria's that way," Tori pointed down the hallway with a strange look. After that comment, she could only assume that the teens were hungry.

Alex led Libby away. He hadn't had much chance to roam around the hospital when he had been a patient, but he did remember the way to the cafeteria.

Hunter looked at Tori. He needed his question about Kelly answered. He needed to see her and figure out what the hell had happened to her. If she was here, things were bad and he wanted to be by her side.

"Tori…"

"Kelly Holloway?" a doctor called as he stepped into the waiting room. Hunter shoved Tori aside and rushed over to the doctor.

"Where is she?" he asked. Tori walked up behind him. The doctor would recognise her as the face that brought Kelly in.

"Miss Holloway is awake now," the doctor answered. "The drug inside the needle was simply propofol and it has worn off. She'll be a little out of it for the next little while, but it shouldn't do any damage to her body."

"Thank goodness," Hunter sighed. He didn't care about the drugs. All he cared about was if his girlfriend was okay."

"What about her injuries?" Tori asked. "Have you found anything…?"

"A concussion, so far," the doctor answered quickly.

"A concussion?" Hunter frowned.

"Kelly had a few of those before," Tori told the doctor. It was a rather common injury in the extreme sports world. Even with helmets and protective gear people were still hurt. "It's not bad, is it?"

"We would like to keep an eye on her for the next few days while we do a few more tests," the doctor said. "However, at this point, she is awake and there is nothing of great concern. We will inform you, though if we find anything."

"Thank you," Tori nodded before letting the doctor get back to his job. She looked at Hunter, "She'll be fine."

"What happened to her?" Hunter asked.

"Grinders invaded the grocery store," Scott said. "Apparently one grabbed Kelly and tried to take her with the rest of the kidnapped citizens. She's the only one who escaped."

"Where is she?" Hunter asked.

"I'll take you," Tori said.

She led Hunter down the hallways until they reached Kelly's room. She told him to wait outside while she talked to Dustin. She figured the Crimson Ranger would want a little time alone with Kelly. She convinced Dustin to leave the room before allowing Hunter to come inside. Before leaving, she told Hunter that she would be back in a few hours. She still had questions she needed to ask Kelly, but it was best to wait until the drugs wore off.

Hunter took the seat that Dustin had placed beside the bed. He took Kelly's hand as she rolled over to look at him. He chuckled, "Where are the groceries?"

"Shut up," Kelly whispered.

"How are you feeling?" Hunter asked her.

Kelly shifted slightly, "Everything hurts."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Kind of," Kelly nodded. "Groceries, Grinders, truck and then… nothing, really."

"Hopefully when you wake up a little more you'll be able to remember," Hunter said. "If it involves Grinders, Tori and the Rangers are going to want to know as much as possible."

"I think I jumped out of a truck," Kelly frowned. Hunter chuckled.

"You jumped out of a truck?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Where are the kids?"

"Cafeteria," Hunter told her. "They were really hungry when I got home."

"You didn't get them anything to eat?"

"I went out. I thought you were coming home," Hunter said. He squeezed her hand gently, "Don't worry about it. Alex seemed perfectly fine munching on the coffee table."

There was a knock on the door before a nurse stepped in, carrying a tray with medical equipment. She looked at Hunter and Kelly.

"Now that we know what drug is in her system the doctor has given the okay to administer some pain killers."

"Good," Hunter nodded. "She's hurting."

"I know that," the nurse said. She looked at Kelly as she administered the drugs, "Aside from the pain how are you feeling?"

"Tired," Kelly whispered.

"That's normal," the doctor said once she finished with Kelly and the pain killers and pulled off her gloves. She smiled softly, "The pain should start to disappear in a little while. But if there's anything else you need just push that little button on the side of your bed. Someone will be here to help you."

Hunter thanked the nurse as she walked off, leaving the two alone. He leaned in closer to the bed and brushed away Kelly's red locks from her face before he kissed her forehead.

"You had me scared for a minute, there," he told her.

"Only a minute?" Kelly teased.

"Libby somehow unplugged the phone," Hunter said. "Tori tried calling, but couldn't get through."

"Tori?" Kelly frowned. She had been out of it when Tori had been taking care of her. The first time she had truly seen Tori was when she had taken Dustin out of the room. "Does she want to know about the Grinders?"

"Yes, but not right now."

"But there are other people…"

"Kelly, you can't even remember if you jumped out of a truck," Hunter said. "Though that would explain your scars, it might not be real. She's going to wait a little while before asking you questions. You know, once your mind is… not as shaken up."

"But…"

"It'll only be a few more hours," Hunter assured her. "If Venjix wanted that many people dead, he wouldn't have bothered transporting them across the Wastelands to kill them. He would have done it in the store."

There was another knock at the door before Alex and Libby walked in. Hunter smiled at Kelly.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" he told her as the two teenagers walked over. Alex sat on the end of the bed while Libby kept her distance, unsure of what to do. She had been told by Alex that the hospital was for sick people, but he never explained to her what sick was.

"I heard you were pretty lucky," Alex said. "The entire grocery store was abducted, save a few souls, and you're the only person who made it back inside the city."

"Yeah, lucky," Kelly frowned. She shifted in bed slightly, hoping to get a little more comfortable.

"Kelly, are you sick?" Libby asked.

"Not exactly," she answered.

"Then why are you here?" Libby asked. "Alex said the hospital was for sick people."

"You can come here when you hurt yourself too," Hunter told Libby. She held up her finger with the paper cut.

"I hurt myself," she said. "I hurt myself a lot today. Should I be here too?"

"You're okay, Libs," Hunter assured her.

"Why am I okay? Why isn't Kelly okay?"

"Kelly hurt herself really badly," Hunter explained. "She thinks she jumped out of a truck. If that's true, she's got a bit of a problem, if it's not, she's either got a problem, or she was dreaming."

"You jumped out of a truck?" Alex asked with excitement in his voice. He turned to Kelly but saw her eyes were closed. He tapped her leg, "Um, Kel?"

"Shh," Kelly shushed him quietly.

"It's probably the pain killers setting in," Hunter said to the boy. "Kelly will be fine."

Hunter felt pretty confident when he said that. There were a few machines hooked up to Kelly. If there was anything wrong, they would surely pick up on it and a doctor would be in here before anyone could wonder what was happening.

"Is she coming home after she wakes up?" Libby asked. Hunter shook his head.

"No, she won't. She'll be staying here for a few days."

"Why can't she come home?" Libby asked. "She has a bed at home, right? Can't she stay there?"

"Not yet…"

"Can we stay here?"

"We're going to go home to sleep, but we'll be back here first thing in the morning…"

"Who's going to help me get dressed?" Libby asked. "Who's going to put me to bed?"

"I can…"

"Kelly does it," Libby interrupted. "Kelly helps me with everything. Kelly helps me, Alex teaches me and you just make jokes!"

"Libby, for a little while you're going to have to get used to Kelly not…"

"But if Kelly's going to be fine, why can't she come home with us?" Libby asked. It was obvious at this point that she was getting distressed. She didn't understand the concept behind hospitals yet, and it wasn't like medicine was Hunter's area of expertise. As far as Libby knew a hospital was just a big building with a lot of beds. She couldn't understand why Kelly couldn't sleep in her own bed at home and be with her. She was behaving like a child, but as far as Hunter and Alex were concerned, Libby was a child. She was a child who depended on other people to help her out.

"Kelly's going to be fine," Hunter assured Libby. He got up and placed his hands on her shoulders, "But she's just going to stay here while the doctors make sure."

"Can they make sure now?" Libby asked. "I want Kelly to come home."

"Maybe in a few days…"

"NOW!" Libby shouted. She stomped her feet on the ground. "I want Kelly home now!"

For a third time there was a knock at the door. Much to Hunter's relief it was Summer who walked in next. Hopefully, being the third person Libby trusted without a second though, Summer could get the girl to calm down.

"Tori just wants to know if you guys need anything," Summer asked.

Libby stomped her feet again, "I want Kelly home!"

Summer looked at the blonde and then at the bed where Kelly was sleeping. She shook her head.

"She can't come home, Libby," she explained. "She got really hurt and the doctors need to make sure she's going to be okay. When they know for sure, they'll let her go home with you, okay?"

"They need to know now!" Libby demanded. "I need Kelly. They don't!"

"But Kelly needs them," Summer said. "You can make it a few days without Kelly. You'll have Hunter and Alex to help you, and if you need me, I'll only be a phone call away."

"Maybe Fran or Lily can help out too," Alex suggested. "I don't know about you, Hunter, but I'm not comfortable helping Libby get dressed and stuff or… what if it's her time of month? Has anyone thought of that, yet?"

"I'll call the kittens," Hunter sighed. He looked at Alex, "Stay here with Kelly."

"Can't you stay with me?" Libby asked Summer. "I like you."

"I'm going to help you in another way," Summer said. "I'm going to find out who hurt Kelly, and I'm going to make sure they never do it again. That way Kelly never has to leave you again, okay?"

"Okay," Libby nodded.


	51. Tori Asks Questions

"Thanks for helping out, Fran," Hunter smiled as the bookworm walked down the stairs. Fran had agreed to take Kelly's place for the next few days while the red head was in the hospital, and as a way of saying thank you, Hunter had offered she stay with him, Libby and Alex in the big house. He even offered her her own private room by forcing Alex to sleep on the couch downstairs. There wasn't much privacy at the loft, so a room to herself was already thanks enough.

"No problem," Fran said. "Libby was pretty much doing everything on her own. She just needed me there to make sure she was doing everything right."

"Have you heard the kittens talking about her training yet?"

"RJ's trying to figure out who will be her primary master," Fran said. "But so far that's it. They all want to help train her together. Apparently learning different skills from many different masters is important to reaching your full potential. Casey, Lily and Theo had four masters each: Mao, RJ and then a bunch of other weird animal names."

"Maybe we can get her started once this whole drama with Kelly blows over," Hunter suggested. Alex and Libby walked down the stairs, dressed and ready to go back to the hospital to be with Kelly.

"Do you guys want me to stock up the fridge for you?" Fran asked as the other three got their shoes and jackets on. She opened up the still empty fridge, "You're going to need something to eat. I saw teeth marks on the coffee table."

All eyes turned to Alex. He blushed nervously.

"My bad."

"Food would be great, Fran," Hunter smiled. "I'll pay you back somehow, I promise…"

"Don't worry about it," Fran said. "We're all in this together. Besides, you gave me my own room. That's thanks enough."

-Fight-Flight-

Tori walked into Kelly's room and took a seat on the chair beside the bed. She had intended to ask Kelly some questions the night before, but once her friend had fallen asleep, Tori decided it was probably best to wait for her to wake up again. Unfortunately, they didn't happen until this morning. Tori got a call from the hospital at an ungodly hour, saying that Kelly was awake and ready to answer any questions.

They had also told her to take what Kelly said with a grain of salt. While everything was looking good with Kelly (a few broken bones which the doctors had taken care of overnight, cuts, scratches and bruises) they still weren't aware of how much she truly did remember. The concussion she suffered was no help on this matter.

But Tori needed answers. She figured she would trust Kelly as long as her story made sense with the information she already knew.

"How are you feeling?"

"They gave me drugs, so better," Kelly chuckled. "But everything still hurts, just not as much."

"Tell me about it," Tori said as she rubbed her shoulder. "How's the head? The doctor said you had a concussion."

"Not the first time," Kelly laughed. "I'll be okay. It'll be my excuse to take things easy."

"You're not going to make Dustin run around for you again, are you?"

"I have a boyfriend this time," Kelly smirked. "I don't need Dustin."

"Good point," Tori smiled. She reached down into her backpack and pulled out a notepad and a pen. "Apparently you know I want to ask you a few questions."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "About the Grinders and stuff. I can't tell you much but…"

"Just tell me what you know," Tori said. "Anything can help us out. The more we know, the better prepared we are for them next time."

"They took a bunch of us," Kelly said. She was finding it hard to remember, but knew that was likely a result of the head injury she had suffered. She had been in this position before, just not to this extreme. The life of an extreme athlete was rather risky and it was unlikely anyone come out of such a career without a few stories to tell. "They just grabbed us and I guess carried us off. I blacked out after I left the store. When I woke up, I was in some kind of transport truck, with a few other people with me. We had Grinders in the truck, standing over us, and I guess we were all attached to something. The Grinders had us drugged."

"Yeah, we figured that out," Tori nodded. "When the Rangers and I found you, there was a needle on the ground nearby."

"Whatever the Grinders wanted, it wasn't to kill us," Kelly said. "They had us all. We couldn't do anything to stop them if they wanted to hurt us. I think they were taking us back to Venjix."

"We've been thinking the same thing," Tori said. "Kilobyte told me Venjix was trying to create the perfect robot. I don't remember much from my college classes, but I do remember the human brain is still the most complex system."

"Could he be using humans as a model?" Kelly asked, raising a good question. Tori was surprised she hadn't thought of that yet. She took it down in her notes before she shrugged.

"We're not sure yet. How did you get away? I doubt the Grinders would just throw you overboard for no reason."

There was no answer, even after a few moments of waiting. Tori looked up from her notes and saw Kelly was still awake, but staring off into space. She snapped her fingers.

"Kel, I know you're head hurts, but try and stay with me."

"What?" Kelly frowned. She looked at Tori.

"I asked you how you got away from the Grinders."

"I was at the back of the truck," Kelly answered. "When I woke up again, I wasn't totally out of it. I guess whatever they had given me hadn't quite set in just yet. I did feel really out of it, though."

"You were," Tori nodded.

"I could still kind move, though. It was weird. I tried rolling out of the truck. I don't recommend that, by the way."

"Dead if you do, dead if you don't," Tori shrugged. "At least you're alive now."

"I guess. Anyways, the Grinder stopped me. I don't exactly remember how we both fell out. Next thing I remember I'm here."

"So there is a blank?" Tori asked.

"I guess," Kelly nodded. "I must have hit my head at that point."

"Or while jumping from the truck," Tori chuckled. "I'm no doctor, but that's probably how you wound up like this."

"I guess so," Kelly said. "The Grinders didn't do anything to me. Not as far as I can remember, that is. I remember in the truck, aside from a sick feeling, I was fine."

"Did the doctors tell you how long you were going to be in here for?"

"Depends on my head and bones," Kelly answered. "The cuts and bruises don't bother them too much and as long as I have care at home I shouldn't be stuck here for too long."

"What did you break?" Tori asked. She couldn't exactly see much of Kelly below the neck. She had been covered with a blanket and Tori never even thought about removing it."

"Not much, actually," Kelly frowned. "The doctors think I must have rolled out in a weird way. Broken leg and arm ankle and wrist, all on different limbs, and a lot of fractures. The scratches and cuts on my legs though make them think I was dragged for a little bit before letting go of whatever was keeping me in the truck in the first place."

"No tuck and roll?"

"More like roll and roll," Kelly said. "I guess I should consider myself lucky."

"I really wish we could figure out what happened," Tori sighed. There was a knock at the door before Hunter, Alex and Libby walked in. Tori turned to them and then back to Kelly, "I'll tell Dr. K and the Colonel what you told me. I doubt we're ever going to really be able to help those other people, though. I don't want to risk sending in new Rangers to face off against Venjix' entire army."

She touched Kelly on the shoulder very gently, unsure if that was a sensitive spot or not, before she walked out, leaving the family of four on their own. She did need to get Kelly's information to the others before they made a decision on what to do.

Hunter approached the bed, "The doctor outside filled us in on last night."

"Don't worry. I don't remember the half of it," Kelly said. Alex went to sit down on the bed, but Kelly glared at him. "If you know what's good for you you'll stay away."

"Standing," Alex said as he took a few steps away from the bed. "I thought you couldn't feel anything again."

"Still hurting, just not as much," Kelly told him.

"I don't understand much of what the doctor said, but you pretty much hurt every part of your body, didn't you?" Alex asked. "Like, from your head, all the way down to your feet."

"Basically. I'll live, though."

"Are you still tired or anything?" Hunter asked. "You don't have to stay awake for us. We're happy just sitting here."

"It's fine," Kelly answered. "I'm okay for now."

"So, Tori was in here asking question?" Alex asked. He knew Tori was expected to visit, he just didn't expect her so early in the morning. He and Tori were especially close, even though she was Hunter's ex, but even he knew it was a bad idea to wake her up in the morning.

"Yeah. She's just trying to figure out what happened," Kelly said.

"Are you sure she wasn't just here to laugh at her ex' current girlfriend?" Alex snickered.

Kelly glared, "If I could move, I would hurt you."

"Sorry. But it's kinda true. I had one girlfriend once who loved to see my ex'…"

"What did we tell you about lying?" Hunter said with a slight smirk.

Alex lowered his head, "I never said the girlfriends were real."

Kelly laughed softly before looking at Libby, "You haven't said much."

"Just thinking," Libby answered her. "I think I know what happened."

"I hurt myself pretty badly," Kelly nodded. "You know what broken bones and bruises are? Remember I explained to you the stupid concept of funny bone."

"It's not funny and it's not a bone," Libby said, "Yeah. Are you going to be okay? Can you come home soon?"

"Not just yet," Kelly said. "But I'll be fine. I've hurt myself like this before. Just not this badly and not all at once."

"You have?" Hunter asked. "I guess I should have figured. You and Dustin and Tori talk about riding and surfing quite a bit…"

Hunter's lips curled into a bit of a smirk, "Maybe when you get the okay from the doctor you and I can find a place to ride? Dustin's found a place where they sell dirt bikes."

"I don't ride," Kelly said.

"What? But you and Dustin always talk about…"

"I don't surf, I don't board, and I definitely don't ride," Kelly bit back, rather harshly. Hunter figured maybe he would back away from the subject. "All I do is coach, okay? I know what I'm talking about with the other riders and I give them pointers on how not to break themselves."

"Way to go, Hunter," Alex said. "Piss her off, that'll help her recovery."

"If you don't want to ride…"

"No."

"Okay," Hunter took a seat in the chair Tori had been occupying and he leaned back.

"What's riding?" Libby asked. A mischievous grin appeared on Alex' face.

"Well, Libby…"

"Riding a bike," Hunter interrupted, before Alex could scar the girl. "It's a sport. Maybe I'll show you one day."

"What's surfing?"

"A lame water sport," Hunter chuckled.

"What's boarding?"

"Skateboarding. It's like the lame water sport, only with wheels and ramps."

"I skateboard!" Alex frowned.

"Still lame," Hunter laughed. "Motocross is the number one sport. Everything else just sucks. Right Kel?"

There was no response. Hunter turned to the bed and saw Kelly was sleeping once again.

"Kel?" he called again.

"Don't wake her!" Alex shouted.

"She sleeps a lot," Libby commented.

"How about you two go find us something to eat while she sleeps?" Hunter suggested.

"I think I'm doomed to a life of hospital food," Alex sighed. He walked over to Kelly's bedside table and grabbed the phone.

"What are you doing?" Libby asked.

"Calling RJ," Alex answered as he dialled the number for the loft. "There's no way I'm eating that crap stuff for the next little while until Kelly is discharged."

Hunter rolled his eyes but he didn't stop the teenager from ordering pizza. He was hungry himself, and one of RJ's pizzas sounded really good.


	52. Couples Night

RJ knocked on the door to Lily's room after getting home from delivering a pizza to the hospital. He had been happy to be able to help out the family of four in this difficult time. He knew it wasn't easy having a friend in the hospital, nor was it easy trying to raise a teenager with the mind of an infant; though he did have to admit to being a little jealous of Fran getting her own room. While he no longer needed to share a bed with Dominic, he still had to share a room.

"Knock, knock," he called as he opened the door. He saw Lily was hard at work on her journal and hoped he wasn't interrupting anything. She seemed to like this self-therapy much more than the therapy everyone was paying for. But the professional therapist was really helping her out with her PTSD; even she had to admit it. He sat down on her bed, "How are you doing?"

Lily organised her papers before setting them down and spinning around in her chair, "Good."

"It's almost dinner time. Do you think you'll be joining the rest of us in front of the TV today?"

"Actually…" Lily smiled as she began to twirl her hair between her fingers. "Casey kind of already invited me out to dinner as a celebration for my therapy going so well."

"Oh," RJ furrowed his brow, "And you said…"

"I think I might go," Lily said. "I trust you guys, right? Why should I be afraid of going out in public?"

"There is no reason to be," RJ nodded.

"Do you think I should?" Lily asked RJ. She noticed the look on his face changing as she told him about her dinner date with Casey. She was beginning to feel a little guilty about going out to dinner with only Casey. RJ had helped her out so much and had been the only person to support her even before he was completely positive she had a problem. Casey was only on board with helping her after he had seen her having an episode and he was the only person there to help her. Before that he had been rather ignorant about her suffering.

"Why not?" RJ shrugged. "It would be a good step for you. You'll be able to get back into a regular routine once again. Maybe you'll start your Tuesday lunches with Theo again."

"Hopefully," Lily nodded. "So… you're okay with me going with Casey? Maybe tomorrow night I can take you out and say thank you for supporting me?"

"How about you just get through tonight, okay cub?" RJ asked. "The only thanks I need is seeing you getting better."

"Okay. I promise not to order any pizza while we're at dinner!" Lily bounced up from her chair and gave RJ a quick peck on the cheek before she skipped over to her closet to start picking out some clothes. RJ got up and walked over to her door. He gave her one last look before letting her get ready for her date in peace. She may not have been able to see it right now, but Casey had asked her on a date. RJ knew there was something between the two cubs.

He closed Lily's door to give her some privacy, turned about and nearly bumped into Casey. The Red Ranger held up two menus he had found and printed from the internet.

"Hey, RJ, is Lily still busy?"

"She's getting ready for your date tonight," RJ told him. He gave the tiger a slight glare.

Casey took a step back, "Are you okay with this, RJ?"

"If you do anything to hurt her…"

"I would never dream of it," Casey quickly stated and he held up his right hand. "I just think she's ready to go out, you know? Without all of us as protection."

"Take good care of her, Casey," RJ warned the boy in red. "She's been through enough. I know what's on your mind. Make sure you go at her speed, got it?"

"Got it," Casey nodded. He held up both menus, "Where do you think? Chinese or Italian?"

"As long as you don't get the pizza, I'll vote for either as good," RJ smiled.

"Good. The Italian place has all you can eat garlic bread and I'm hungry," Casey chuckled.

-Fight-Flight-

"Hey beautiful!"

Tori jumped in her seat. She had been so focused on her work she had forgotten there was a life outside of the computer screen. She spun around in the chair and saw Blake smiling at her.

"Hey you," she smiled. "What brings you by?"

"Haven't seen you much," Blake smiled playfully, "You don't call… no letter… after a while a guy starts to wonder if he even has a girlfriend."

"Sorry about that," Tori sighed. "This random kidnapping thing has kind taken over my thoughts. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"What did Dr. K say when you gave him Kelly's answers?"

"He did another scan of the wastelands and extended it to hit the Venjix palace. He didn't pick up any life signatures… just a bunch of robots. It's so far out in the wastes that anyone would be dead long before they made it inside the building. I can't ask the Rangers to go out there just to see if we might be able to find a few people."

"What are you going to do?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," Tori shook her head. "I guess we better just hope this never happens again and we try our best to keep the rest of the city safe."

"Sounds like a plan," Blake smiled. "How about you take a few hours off of this crazy job of yours and we do something? Just the two of us?"

"Meh," Tori shrugged.

Blake frowned. He knew how to get her out of her seat.

"You know, I bet Dr. K was a lady's name before he was swallowed by his work," he smirked. "I guess I'm lucky. I'm one of the few people left on this planet who will actually remember your face before you hide behind a giant computer screen with the letter T in the middle."

Tori narrowed her eyes as she glared at Blake, "Excuse me?"

"Put one of the Rangers on research duty? Or take some time off! You're not going to help yourself by sitting here twenty-four/seven and worrying about people you can't save anymore!"

"Alright," Tori said. She got up from her seat, "But can we stay in? I don't really feel like going out tonight?"

"Do we have to stay in?" Blake whined. "Last time we stayed in the Rangers almost walked in on us!"

"Don't you have your own place?"

"With the guys? Your long time friends? The friends who would kill me for doing the dirty with you?"

"They'll only kill you if they can get past me," Tori smirked. She walked up closely to Blake and placed her hands on his chest before pressing herself against him. Blake wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands on the small of her back. Tori smiled seductively as she looked into his eyes. "Anyways, there's something sexy about going behind their backs…"

"Maybe I can convince them to go out for dinner or something?" Blake said.

Tori nodded her head and bit her lip as she smiled, "You have half an hour to try and get rid of them. I'll meet you at your place."

Blake leaned in and kissed her before rushing out the door. He had to get ready and he had to somehow get the guys to leave the apartment for the night.

Tori chuckled as she turned around. She was going to take this half hour just to finish up a little more work.

But when she turned around, she came face to face with Flynn.

"So…" the scot said. Tori groaned.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to start wondering when we're going to start looking for the second Ranger Series blue operator. Maybe a pretty girl? You know the Ranger business can get pretty lonely…"

"There's only Green and Black," Tori sighed. "Maybe when you find someone for those suits you can start dating them."

"You're no fun," Flynn grumbled jokingly before walking away.

-Fight-Flight-

A smile appeared on Hunter's face when he saw Kelly was starting to stir. Well, she was pretty immobile due to the casts that had been placed on her body during the night, so it was more of a series of random twitching, but that didn't keep Hunter from looking at her beautiful face.

When Kelly opened her eyes she saw Hunter. She yawned and looked at the clock, which had been placed so she didn't need to crank her head too much.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked Hunter.

He checked his watch, "Seven hours. Alex is getting a little jealous. He's not getting much sleep on the couch."

"Have you been there the entire time?"

"I got up to answer the door when RJ dropped off some fresh pizza," Hunter chuckled. He grabbed a plate from the bedside table and showed it to Kelly, "I saved a piece for you, if you're hungry."

"Thanks," Kelly smiled.

"I can get a nurse to warm it up for you if you…"

"I prefer cold pizza," Kelly said. "Always kind of have."

"Good," Hunter laughed. "Do you need any help eating it… with both hands…?"

"It's okay. I'm not hungry right now. I'll save it for later."

"It's fine, Kel. I won't think any less of you just because I have to feed you."

"I'd still rather not," Kelly said. Hunter nodded in respect for her decision and he put the plate back on the table. He turned to look back at her and smiled.

Kelly looked at him, "What?"

"Nothing," Hunter smirked. "I just like looking."

"Good. That's all you'll be able to do with me for the next little while."

"I'm okay with that," Hunter said. He leaned in and kissed Kelly on the cheek, "So how are you feeling right now?"

"Pain, tired… really bad headache…"

"That'll teach you not to jump out of a truck," Hunter chuckled.

"Unless they've found the other missing people, I have no regrets."

"Very good point," Hunter nodded. He kissed Kelly again, this time on the lips, before pulling away. He sat in silence with her for a moment, content with just petting her hair comfortingly. But he noticed she seemed a little bored. He didn't doubt that she enjoyed his company, but there was never much to do in hospitals. Tomorrow he was going to make sure to bring a few board games so she could play with him and the kids, with a little assistance of course. Today, though, he needed another way to entertain her.

"You know," he started, hoping a conversation would keep her busy, "It's actually pure coincidence that both Blake and I love motocross. We fell in love with it before our parents adopted us and we met. Until we found out we had that in common, we hated each other."

"Really?" Kelly asked. "I thought you were adopted as babies?"

"Nope," Hunter shook his head. "I was adopted when I was three from an orphanage. Blake was adopted when he was five years old from the same place. I left just a few days before he was left on the door step."

"That sucks," Kelly frowned. Hunter shrugged.

"It would, if you can remember it," he said. "Neither one of us considers our biological parents to be our real parents, so their abandonment doesn't hurt us much. I still have a lot of questions for them, and I'm sure Blake does as well, but we don't need answers. We had real parents who loved us…"

"What happened to them?" Kelly asked. "You told me they died but…"

"It was murder," Hunter said. "You remember Lothor, right? The big bad alien who wanted to take over the world?"

"I remember being in love with him once…"

"That was a spell!" Hunter laughed. "You were kinda crazy… anyways… he murdered our parents."

"Hunter… that's terrible!" Kelly gasped. She really wished she could hug him, but the stupid casts and pain were keeping her from moving around too much.

"It's fine. We kicked his ass for it. Twice," Hunter smiled. "Blake and I have moved on."

"It still must hurt."

"It always will," Hunter nodded. "But you move on… I guess Blake and I aren't really different anymore. Most people must have lost their parents thanks to Venjix. Alex and Libby are just two of many."

Kelly sighed, "Yeah…"

There was a silence. Hunter didn't exactly know how to transition from this topic to another without seeming like he was simply dismissing his pain.

"So, um… I've talked a little about me… would you like to share?" Hunter asked.

Kelly thought for a moment, "I fell in love with motocross after my brother too me to the track once when I was a kid."

"You have a brother?" Hunter's eyes widened. "Way to warn me…"

"He's dead now," Kelly shrugged.

"Right," Hunter frowned. "Sorry about that."

"At least… as far as I know he's dead. He lived in Texas after college. I didn't see him much. I always thought of moving out there to join him once I finished my studies, but then I founded Storm Chargers. We haven't talked much in years. I don't even think he knows I… never mind."

"What?" Hunter asked. He looked at Kelly, "You can trust me."

"I don't think he knows I quit motocross… or all the other sports I used to play…"

"Yeah… why did you quit?" Hunter asked. He remembered she seemed a little defensive about her sports' history earlier that day and he had been curious why.

"I just did," Kelly shrugged. "Like Tori said, I hit my head a few too many times and…"

"I hit my head too many times while Rangering, doesn't mean I'm going to give it up. I'd go back in a heartbeat if the RPM team needed me."

"Well, the last time was the last time. I don't think I can go back after so many years of retirement… I don't think I want to."

"What happened?" Hunter asked. "Surely you didn't just quit because you dinged your head one too many times… and it's not like you didn't take care of yourself afterwards, right?"

"I always did," Kelly nodded. "It was… the last time… it was bad."

"How bad?"

"Can we just leave it at I had a really bad landing once?" Kelly whispered. "I already told you I've been here before… just not to this degree, and I didn't get hurt trying to save my own life."

"Must have been nasty," Hunter hissed. He touched Kelly's cheek softly.

"It's not as bad as your abandonment story," Kelly said. She looked at Hunter, "If you want to keep me entertained, why don't you tell me about you and Blake before you bonded over motocross? I bet there are some funny and embarrassing stories involving a five and eight year old."

"Oh yeah," Hunter nodded. "Where to start? How about Blake purposely wetting the bed in the middle of the night just so he could brag to me about mom and dad spending all night with him? Or the time where I got so jealous of Blake when he first came home that I changed my name to Lucy and borrowed a princess dress from a girl at school."

"What?" Kelly laughed.

"I thought I would get more attention from my parents if I was a girl," Hunter shrugged. "You know… crazy kid theories. At the time, I thought my parents were only allowed to love one boy and one girl at a time… and we didn't have a sister."

"You're such a nut job!"

"I wouldn't insult me too much," Hunter grinned. "I'm your entertainment, remember?"

"I'm sorry," Kelly laughed. "So… which princess were you?"

Hunter muttered the answer under his breath. Kelly looked at him.

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that."

"I'm not repeating it! You just need to know I had an identity crisis at one point."

Kelly glared at her boyfriend before hissing in pain. She shut her eyes and was suddenly on the verge of tears.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Hunter frowned.

"No longer distracted…" Kelly grunted painfully, "All my pain… it's taking over…"

"I was a pretty pink princess," Hunter mumbled. He looked at Kelly. "Are you happy now?"

The pained look disappeared from Kelly's face, "Wow… miraculous recovery! So… pretty pink princess, really?"

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Hunter frowned.

"Very," Kelly grinned.

Hunter shook his head before kissing her. She was lucky he loved her so much. Had anyone else do that, he would have killed them in a very painful way, whether they were already in pain or not.


	53. A Good Kind of Special

Casey walked with his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do with them. Beside him, Lily was clutching her doggy bag from the restaurant close to her chest. She hadn't finished her plate of pasta and knew it would still be as good the next day. Casey had nothing to bring home. There were never any leftovers with him at the table unless they came from someone else's plate.

They stopped when they reached the door. Casey turned to Lily nervously.

"Well…" he started.

"This is my bedroom," Lily was just as nervous and unsure as Casey.

He nodded his head, "Yes… it is," he held out his hand to take the bag, "I can put this in the fridge for you for tomorrow."

Lily smiled and handed him her leftovers, "As long as you don't eat them on the way. The bag is still warm, so I know the food is."

"That's why you were hugging it," Casey chuckled. He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess… this is goodnight…"

"Goodnight," Lily nodded. Casey was about to turn away when suddenly Lily pulled him in for a kiss. Casey dropped the bag of pasta and pulled her in as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She had a wonderful time with him at dinner, and he made her feel so safe and so good that she had been waiting for this since they had shared dessert (well, since she took a few bites of the dessert Casey devoured). She never thought she would see him as more than a little brother until he took on a strong, dominant role and really started to look after her. She had felt things switch until they were just so confusing that her mind relabelled everything. Unfortunately, it took her this long to realise exactly what Casey had been relabelled as.

"Whoa," they heard someone breathe and they broke away from each other, embarrassed. Theo stood, only a few feet away from them with a glass of water in his hand.

Casey's eyes widened when he realised what he had done. Theo and Lily used to be an item. Even if they parted on good terms and wanted the other to be happy, there were still deals, promises and a huge friendship on the line.

"Theo, I'm…"

"Going to forget this ever happened and I'm going to walk away," Theo finished for Casey. The tiger looked at Lily before chasing after Theo.

"Really, T… I don't know what…"

"It's okay, Casey," Theo nodded. "Kinda creepy, but I am a big boy, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Now I'm going to go clean my eyes," Theo said. "Just, be careful with each other, okay? I know RJ already gave you the shovel speech before you two left."

Lily shot Casey a strange look. He shrugged it off for the moment and smiled at Theo.

"Thanks for understanding."

"Understanding what?" Theo smirked. "You two are home, I wanted a glass of water. There's really nothing to understand."

"Right," Casey chuckled before turning his attention back to Lily. She crossed her arms.

"Why do I get the feeling I have four bodyguards… and it's not because of my disorder."

"We're a pack; you're one of two females. There are less females then males so we have to be protective," Casey chuckled. He picked up her bag from the floor. "I'll put this away."

"Okay," Lily nodded. She followed Casey for a few steps before kissing him again. She wasn't ready to take things further, but she did like him, and she wanted the night to end on a high rather than an awkward encounter with her ex.

"Goodnight, again," Casey smiled when she pulled away.

"Goodnight."

-Fight-Flight-

Libby watched as Alex shoved all his belongings in what he called _a locker_ and then grabbed a round metal device with a dial and hooked it to the locker. Curious, she reached for the handle to try and open the locker again, but she couldn't. She tried pulling on the metal device, but it wouldn't open again.

"You lost your stuff," she said to Alex. He shook his head.

"No, I didn't. Watch this," he smiled. He grabbed the metal device and began spinning the dial. Right first, then left, then right again. Libby almost got dizzy as she watched him spin it. Finally, he pulled on the device and it opened up. He unhooked it from _the locker_ and opened the metal door. "Ta-da."

"How did you do that?" Libby asked.

Alex pulled a metal device from his pocket and placed it in her hand, "I'll teach you how the lock works tonight when we get home from school and then tomorrow we'll find your locker. Just dump your stuff in here with mine."

Libby looked inside the locker. Alex wasn't kidding when he said dump. All his things were piled together on the locker floor.

She furrowed her brow as she pulled off her jacket and hung it up neatly on one of the coat hangers. She did the same with her hat before pulling off her gloves and placing them on the locker shelf. Finally, she slid her bag off her shoulders and hung it up opposite to her jacket.

Alex looked at her, "You are so Libby."

"I _am_ Libby," she frowned.

"I know, I just… never mind. Let's find the principal and see what this school has planned for you."

"Why do they have something planned for me?" Libby asked as Alex guided her down the hallways.

"You're special."

"So are you," Libby nodded. "We're all special."

"But you're a little more special," Alex said. "You know… different special."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Alex smiled. He found the principal's office without a problem but was disappointed to see there was a note on his door declaring his absence. Of all days for him to be away from the school, it had to be today.

He walked over to the secretary's desk, "Uh, excuse me…"

"Take a number," the secretary frowned. Alex looked around. There were no numbers and nobody else in the office.

"It's about a student named Olivia…"

The secretary looked up, "Young man, I just finished placing over a hundred new students into different classrooms. Do you really think I have the time to worry about whether or not you and your girlfriend are in the same class?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Alex frowned. He looked at Libby who was watching him curiously, "She's more like a sister. Used to be big, now little… not really in age… she's still older… I think… actually, that's why I needed to ask you about her. She's supposed to be in a special class."

The secretary blinked before turning back to her computer. Alex waited for a few seconds before opening his mouth to speak again. The secretary shushed him by holding her finger up in the air. At that very moment the first bell rang, indicating all students needed to get to class.

Alex huffed. He grabbed Libby's arm and gently pulled her out of the room.

"Well, the office workers seem like total bitches, but I'm sure we'll be able to get through today," he said. He looked at his schedule. Thankfully he had received it in the mail this morning before Hunter sent him off to school. Libby hadn't been as fortunate. She hadn't received any letters or notices from the school. Alex had no idea where to drop her off or what to do with her. He decided he would take her to his first class and then explain his situation to the teacher. Hopefully he, or she, would understand and be of some help.

He walked into his class and saw it was set up just like a normal tenth-grade classroom: desks, chairs and students filling in. He found two empty desks placed side by side and quickly pulled Libby over before anyone else could grab them. He was okay being alone for the first day, but he knew Libby needed him. No one else would understand her.

"Aw, look," a voice commented from the row behind Alex and Libby, "New kid's already got a girlfriend."

"A hot girlfriend," another voice added.

"Hot?" Libby whispered, as she always did when in the presence of others. Alex was thankful she was shy around strangers this one time.

He turned around and saw the two voices belonged to big students. He knew they were athletes because of the jackets they were wearing. Already on day one Alex knew that the mascot for Corinth high was a lion and the school colours were white and gold, just by looking at the jacket. He also knew the athletes were stereotypical. They were bullies.

"She's not my girlfriend," he said calmly. Class was due to start any minute and the teacher would walk in. If he could wait that long…

"Well, she's too pretty to be _your_ sister," the jock just behind Alex said.

"Unless you caught the recessive ugly gene in your family," the second jock laughed. Alex quickly checked his schedule. Yep, this was biology class. Apparently they were studying genetics and these two boys were trying to show off. It wasn't working. There was no such thing as an ugly gene. Intelligence: maybe. Beauty: not quite.

"My family's dead," Alex whispered. "My _parents_ aren't genetically related to me."

"Boohoo," the first jock mocked. "You must be one of the evacuees. My family's been in this city since the day it was built three years ago. This is my territory."

"Okay, well then you can keep that desk," Alex said as he tapped on the jock's desk, "And I'll just sit in this one."

"You think you're funny, new kid?" the second jock frowned as he swatted Alex' hand away from his friend's desk. "We'll see who's laughing after school. 3 o'clock."

"People really say that?" Alex smirked. "Wow, and here I was thinking TV was nothing like real life."

"Why you little…" the second jock made a fist and jumped out of his seat just as the second bell rang and the teacher rushed into the class. Alex watched as the jock sat back down and recomposed himself. He turned to the front of the classroom and was about to call for the teacher's attention when she smiled and nodded.

"Welcome back, class," she said. "As many of you have probably noticed, we're still welcoming many students who arrived in Corinth during the worldwide evacuations. I would like you all to welcome Alex Jeffries and Olivia Greyson!"

Alex frowned. The teacher knew about Libby. While the class clapped (less than enthusiastically), he got up from his seat and rushed to the front. He pulled the teacher aside.

"Um, excuse me."

"Yes?" the teacher smiled. Finally, a friendly face.

"When my uh… parents, signed Libby up for classes here, they requested special education for her. At least temporarily."

"Unfortunately all of our special education classes are full," the teacher whispered. "And seeing as your parents haven't informed us of the specific reasons why Libby needs extra help, the most we could do was push her back a grade."

"Push her back? That's it? Libby barely knows how a locker works. I don't think she's ready for tenth grade material! And I doubt my parents want some stranger telling her how the birds and the bees work just yet."

The teacher frowned and glanced down the classroom at Libby who was currently going through Alex' pencil case and trying to figure out what exactly the eraser was and how it was used.

"Does she have a learning disability?"

"No, she catches on pretty quickly. She just… isn't caught up yet. She's one of the people who was… well… born yesterday…"

"I'll keep my eye on her," the teacher smiled gently and placed her hand on Alex' shoulder. "How about we figure out exactly where she stands before I think about modifying her work for her."

"I guess that'll work," Alex nodded. "I'll get back to my seat before Libby pokes her eye out with my pencil."

"I'll start teaching my class," the teacher smirked. She clapped her hands together as Alex walked back to his seat and took the eraser and the pencil from Libby's hands. The teacher called for the attention of the rest of the students before she walked to the board and started writing down the homework from the night before, "I asked you all to read chapters thirteen and fourteen from your textbook and to answer the fifteen questions at the end of each. So, be honest and put your hand up if you did do it."

-Fight-Flight-

"So, are you liking school?" Alex asked Libby as they walked through the cafeteria, each with a tray of food in their hands.

Libby shrugged, "I don't get it."

"There's not a student here that does," Alex chuckled. He then pointed to a table where kids were already getting a head start on their homework, "Except for those kids… maybe. Word of advice: befriend them. They'll be a big help in the last year of school."

"Okay…" Libby frowned.

Alex picked a relatively empty table and set his tray down. Libby followed and did the same. She sat opposite to Alex. She found it was easier to talk to people when she was facing them, instead of sitting beside them.

Alex smiled at her before digging into his plate of… well he wasn't too sure what it was. Hospital food was looking good at this point, though. Aside from the food, and the jocks, he was starting to like attending school here. The classes didn't feel as heavy as they had been back in Blue Bay, and he now understood that the reason there was school on Saturday was because Thursday and Friday were both only half days. It was going to take some getting used to, though.

He was also happy when he found out that the classes followed each other throughout the day, meaning all the students in his first period class were also with him in second, third and fourth period, Libby included. He could keep an eye on her, and it would be a little easier to make friends. And he knew to avoid Jim and Hank, the two jocks he had met in biology.

He took a bite of his food and then realised the only way there would be flavour was if he took some of the ketchup packets and drowned his plate in ketchup. He told Libby he would be back shortly and quickly rushed off to grab a few packs.

Several girls on the table beside them saw Alex getting up and took their chance to grab their trays and sit with Libby. Libby recognised them as girls in her class; both biology and math. She offered them a small smile, but wasn't going to say anything to them.

The girls were okay with that. They wanted to do all the talking.

Alex grabbed the ketchup and turned around. He quickly noticed the girls had flooded his table. His first thought was filled with panic. Libby wasn't okay around strangers. But when he saw the girls were talking to Libby, he figured this was her chance to make friends. Slowly, he walked back to his table to give the girls enough time to talk.

"So, you're, like, the new girl and already there are rumours about you," the brunette girl started. "We're just here to see if those rumours are true."

Libby didn't say anything. She just looked down at her food. The brunette girl looked at her friends before glaring at Libby.

"Hello! I'm talking to you!" there was still no response from Libby. The girls all laughed, "Wow, so, rumours confirmed, you were held back a grade. So, is that because you failed a few classes, or are you just too stupid to function?"

"What's stupid?" Libby asked.

"She speaks!" one of the other girls commented and the group all laughed. The brunette looked at Libby and took her hand.

"Stupid, you know, like you. Dumb, moronic, doesn't know anything. Dimwitted. Can't tell left from right. Doesn't know how a pencil works and says math when the teacher asks her what a quadratic equation is."

"It's an insult?" Libby asked. "You're being mean to me?"

"Duh," the brunette nodded. "You are slow. Now I understand why that hottie Alex is always around you. You're his charity case, aren't you?"

"I don't know…"

"Of course not," the girl scoffed. She grabbed the dessert from Libby's tray, the only edible in the entire cafeteria aside from the ketchup, and stuffed it down Libby's sweater. Libby looked at the girls with tear filled eyes, but that only made them laugh louder as they all got up to walk away.

It was at that point that Alex finally reached the table. Libby jumped out from her seat and ran over to him. Alex caught her in his arms and could immediately tell she was going to burst into tears like the child she thought she was.

He clenched his fist and glared at the girls. He didn't care if every bully, boy, girl, teacher or faculty member picked on him, but the moment anyone hurt Libby they crossed the line.

"What the hell did you say to her?" he yelled loudly.

"Nothing that isn't true," the brunette smiled sweetly. "C'mon, you know what she's like."

"Yeah, I do," Alex nodded. "The thing is, you have no clue. So I suggest you all back off and leave her alone."

"HEY!" Alex heard someone yell. He turned around and saw it was Hank. He rolled his eyes as the jock marched over to him. "New kid, why the hell are you yelling at girls?"

Alex wasn't going to deal with this. Not on his first day. He dropped the packs of ketchup and walked Libby out of the cafeteria before she really burst into tears and drew more attention to herself.

"Yeah, that's right, coward! Run away!" Hank shouted as Alex walked away.

He led Libby to his locker and grabbed both his and her things.

"We're getting out of here," he told her.

Libby wiped her tears with her sleeve, "Where are we going?"

"Home… or the hospital."

"I think Hunter's helping RJ again today," Libby whispered as a few students walked by. "And Fran told me she wanted to surprise Kelly with something, so she's gone too."

"Do you want to go see someone?" Alex asked. "Hunter, Fran… or Kelly?"

He knew how to handle things when Libby got upset. As much as he could help, he couldn't give her the soft, comforting words like Kelly, and he couldn't make her laugh like Hunter. All he could do was protect her.

Libby nodded her head, "Is Kelly going to come home today?"

"Not today," Alex said. "But… I think we're due for a visit. She's pretty good with this kind of stuff."

"Okay," Libby grabbed her things from Alex and the two snuck past the office and left the school. Alex was going to get into big trouble with Hunter and Kelly if they found out he missed his last two classes on his first day, but his first priority was finding a way of getting Libby settled in. That wasn't going to happen until he figured out just the right way of telling the world Libby had been reborn, without telling them exactly that.

And he wasn't exactly looking forward to facing Jim and Hank when lunch was over.

As he waited for the bus, he wrapped his arm around Libby comfortingly. She looked up at him.

"I am stupid, aren't I?"

"No… no… Libs, you're not, you're just…"

"But stupid means I don't know anything," Libby echoed the brunette girl, "And I don't know anything."

"You're just different," Alex told her. "You're special, remember? A good kind of special. Don't listen to those girls. They are the stupid ones."


	54. Telling the Parents

Kelly furrowed her brow as the doorknob turned. She wasn't expecting any visitors today. She knew Hunter was needed to help RJ finish the renovations for JKP, and the kids were supposed to be in school. She hadn't seen them for a few days already, but school came first so they were the last two people she wanted to see.

Unfortunately Kelly wasn't in control of much at this point. She had only just learned how to feed herself with a broken arm and wrist. Even then, she could barely control the ease with which the food got from the bowl to the plate, never mind control fate.

"Kelly!" Libby all but shouted as she rushed into the room and collapsed beside Kelly's bed crying. Kelly's eyes widened. Thankfully she had some movement in her left arm (just not her wrist). She gently brushed Libby's hair in a comforting manner while she looked at Alex.

"Some girls were picking on her," Alex said. He dropped his stuff by the door and pulled up a chair next to the bed so Libby could sit. He helped her in and then continued his explanation to Kelly. "They were saying some pretty harsh things. Stuff that would make a seventeen year old cry when no one was looking… but because Libby's well…"

"What did they say?" Kelly asked Libby. She looked into the teenager's eyes. Libby shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know what the words all mean, but they were insulting me," Libby said. "They called me stupid, and dimwitted and moronic. They also said I was slow… but I'm not! I beat Alex at races all the time! They also said I was a charity case… but isn't a charity a good thing?"

"Not the way they meant it," Kelly breathed. She looked to Alex, "How the hell did this happen?"

"I went to get ketchup," Alex sighed. Kelly shot him a look, so he explained, "Consider yourself lucky they're feeding you tasteless food here. I don't know what the school cafeteria calls food… but it's not."

Libby burst into tears once more and dropped her head on Kelly's bed to sob.

"The whole school's filled with bullies," Alex said. "I mean, I can't even go to the secretary for help! The principal wasn't there, so I don't know about him… the students are bullies…"

"School sucks, you're saying?"

"No," Alex shook his head. "Classes are good. I'm actually getting into it. It's the people… they're horrible! I can take it, but Libs…"

"You can take it?" Kelly frowned. "Alex, are you being picked on too?"

"It's just some jocks," Alex shrugged. "They're always like that. They walk around thinking they own the school. I can handle it, Kel."

"Alex…"

"I got it, Kel. You just get better, okay?" Alex said gently. Kelly sighed and rolled her eyes. She looked at Libby

"I'll talk with Hunter," Kelly assured the young girl. She hated that his was all she could do to help. "We'll sort this out so it doesn't happen again, okay?"

Libby nodded before she reached over and hugged Kelly. It hurt the older woman quite a bit, but she used her _"good"_ arm to hug the blonde back. Libby needed it.

-Fight-Flight-

"I don't know what kind of training this is, but I don't think I'm going to like it," Scott frowned as a hammer was placed in his hand. He turned to his teammates who both looked at him and shrugged. Finally, he turned to Tori and Fran.

"Well, training was getting kind of repetitive. You know, the daily jog, the daily work out, the daily strange game where one of you usually proves dominant and the others coward in defeat... and Fran here needed a few hands," Tori smiled as she pointed to Fran. The lovable nerd grinned before she handed out three hard hats matching the ones both she and Tori were already wearing. Summer grinned. The hats were yellow.

"And what exactly are we doing?" Flynn asked as he put the hat on his head.

"Renovating," Fran said. "Kelly's been looking for a place for a while now…"

"I thought she lived with Hunter, Alex and Libby," Summer frowned.

"No interrupting me," Fran snapped. "I'm the boss here."

"Yes mam," Summer nodded and took a quick step back before she got in the way of Fran's temper. The brunette smiled.

"Maybe I don't need the leather jacket," Fran mused to herself before looking back at her three workers, "Kelly's been looking for a place to start her own business. I believe she calls it Storm Chargers…"

"I brought my bike there once," Summer interrupted once again. This time Fran only needed to shot her a stare. "Sorry…"

"As I was saying: Storm Chargers; an extreme sport's store. I have no idea what that means, but Tori does. We're going to fix this place up and get it all set up so that Kelly can be back to work by the time something heals up."

"Basically, we need everything done to the room today," Tori said. "That means the wiring needs to be done, doors need to be set up and shelves need to be made and lights need to be hung."

"We are so going to get electrocuted…" Scott muttered to Flynn and the boys shared a laugh. Tori let it slid – this time. They were going to pay for it later anyways.

"Well?" Fran frowned. The Rangers looked at her, confused. "Don't just stand there. We said today, didn't we?"

"Yes sir!" Scott saluted before Summer smacked him in the ribs. He coughed and corrected himself, "Yes mam!"

He groaned to Summer as they all got to work, "You don't have to hit so hard…"

Fran turned to Tori and bounced, "I love your job! It's cool bossing people around."

"Yep, I got used to it," Tori smirked. "It's even better when you get paid."

"So, do you really think they'll be able to finish all this stuff today? A run down store was the best I could find."

"They'll get it done," Tori nodded as she glanced at the team. The first job was getting all the wiring done.

"OW! Flynn!"

"It wasn't me, lass! It's got a life of its own!"

"OW! Flynn!"

"Okay, that really wasn't me."

"Scott…"

"You hit me first!"

Tori looked back at Fran, "Trust me, I know how they work. They'll want this over and done with as soon as possible."

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter walked into the hospital with a skip in his step. In his arm he carried a dozen roses and on his shoulders he carried a backpack with a special surprise. He was sure she was starting to miss home, and as much as he wanted to spend every night with her at the hospital, he needed to take Alex and Libby home. It was better for Libby to be at home and with school starting again he needed to keep the kids in a regular routine. He missed Kelly at night, though, and he was sure she missed him as well.

Probably not as much as she missed rolling over, but he knew he was up there.

He knocked on her door before entering, as he did every time. It drove Kelly crazy, considering there was no need for him to knock, but he had to do it, if anything, just to drive her up the wall. It was a little fun.

"I swear to god, Bradley, if that's you…"

"What if I was a doctor?" Hunter grinned as he walked in. Kelly glared.

"That's why I said if."

Hunter offered her the flowers, "For you," he smiled.

Kelly's glare melted away. She smiled back at her boyfriend, "They're beautiful."

Hunter set them down on the bedside table. He would ask a nurse what to do with them later. He went to grab the chair he always sat in when he visited Kelly, but he was surprised to see Libby was already occupying it. He looked at the blonde and then noticed Alex was on the other side of the room, by the window.

He checked his watch, "But… shouldn't you guys just be getting home from…"

"They skipped," Kelly explained before the kids could get into trouble. "I called the school already."

"Why skip?" Hunter frowned. He looked at Alex. He had to be the brains behind this plan, "Couldn't you wait at least a month?"

"Libby needed someone," Alex shrugged. "Anyways, it was only gym and music class. I can't run laps yet with my leg, and I'm not exactly talented with an instrument. I'm not missing anything."

"But Libby…"

"Hunter, the kids are being bullied," Kelly said before Hunter could press the matter further. The Crimson Ranger dropped the subject immediately at this revelation and he turned to Kelly. Suddenly, he looked at the kids again.

"What?"

"Bullied," Libby whispered. "And it's not the past tense of the animal."

"The what?" Hunter frowned. He shook his head, "Never mind. Who's bullying you?"

"Bullying Libby," Alex corrected. He could take care of himself. Libby needed the help. "Some girls at school called her stupid and… other variations of the word. I don't know what they're deal is, but I think if we can figure out a way to tell them about Libby's… condition, without revealing any ninja and kung fu secrets, they might back off."

"Isn't she in special classes?" Hunter asked. "They have teachers to help…"

"Faculty wasn't very helpful today, apparently," Kelly said. "And anyways, their solution for Libby was holding her back a grade… or moving her back one. She's in the same classes as Alex and so far only one teacher has considered modifying the curriculum."

"What?" Hunter was furious. He had made arrangements with the school regarding Libby. They had promised she would receive special care.

"Apparently there is no learning disability," Alex explained. "And they're right. She learns just as quickly as the rest of us, if not faster! She's just… gappy…"

"Gappy?" Libby frowned. That didn't sound like something nice.

"You're missing a few valuable pieces of information. I mean, you know DNA looks like twirled ribbon, and you know it stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, but I'm still having a hard time convincing you that all life has DNA."

"But where is it?" Libby asked. "We have arms, legs, a head, hands and feet… but I don't see any DNA anywhere."

"For the last time, it's everywhere," Alex groaned.

Libby crossed her arms and shook her head, "Then why can't I see it."

"It's tiny."

"Liar!"

Alex groaned, "Save me…"

"So she doesn't have a learning disability," Hunter shrugged. "Big deal. She still needs help! Guidance! Patience! Not bullies and a tenth grade curriculum."

"I like my classes," Libby smiled. "I made people laugh in math class, and biology is like a story about very small things and about what makes us. Like hair colour and eye colour and height and…"

"She'll go on if you don't stop her," Alex sighed.

"The point is, Hunter, someone needs to get this sorted," Kelly said. "And I'm stuck in here so I was hoping maybe tomorrow, when you drop the kids off, you can have a word with the principal or the teacher or…"

"I just need an excuse," Alex interrupted. "I don't want the kids at school to know I went blabbing to… well… whatever I'm supposed to call you guys. On the first day too! I'll be known as the wimp and Libby… she'll get it worse once the girls find out she's easy prey and the guys… well they'll find out the same thing."

"I'll talk with the school," Hunter nodded to Kelly. He had intended on doing so even before she asked him, but Alex' last comment was really pushing him to take action. But he had another idea in mind as well. "I'll also talk to RJ and Cam."

"About?" Kelly frowned before she got an idea. She shook her head, "No. Hunter, those kids are kids, you can't…"

"I'll talk to RJ and Cam about admitting Libby and Alex into the schools," Hunter said before Kelly got the wrong idea, though that had crossed his mind. "We already know what to do with Libby, but maybe Alex can use a little…"

"You're converting them," Kelly glared. "We should talk about this."

"It's not a religion."

"Blew the heaven and hell theory out of the water for me," Kelly said.

"Spirit world and abyss of evil… it's the same thing," Hunter shrugged. He turned to the kids, "So, how about it? I'll talk with the school tomorrow, and we'll let you two take special classes."

"Special?" Libby frowned. She was really hearing that word a lot.

Hunter nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Trust me, kid, it'll help you out. A lot," he then patted her back, "Now, leave. I would like a few minutes with my girlfriend, please."

"Gross," Alex frowned. He pulled Libby out of the room. "I regret helping you guys sort out your issues. It's nasty."

Hunter mocked laughed as he followed the kids to the door and shut it behind them. He turned to Kelly and finally removed the backpack from his shoulders.

"I got you something," he smiled.

Kelly looked at the roses, "I know…"

"You can't sleep with roses at night, can you?" Hunter chuckled.

"If you got me a blow up you I swear to god…"

"Does that really sound like something I would do?" Hunter asked. He unzipped the bag and reached in. The first thing Kelly saw when he pulled his hand out was a pink crown on top of a light pink teddy bear head. She gasped and began to laugh.

"You didn't…"

Hunter pulled the rest of the bear out. Not only did it have a pink tiara, but it had a matching dress as well. He placed the pink bear on top of Kelly's stomach and let her reach for it on her own with her _good_ hand. It was awkward for her, with the cast for her wrist, but she managed to grab it and pull it in closer.

"Alex is going to have a lot of questions when he sees this," Kelly smiled. Hunter leaned in and stole a kiss.

"Let him wonder. I thought Pretty Pink Princess here could keep you company when I'm at home with the kids. She's soft, cuddly and she'll make you think of me."

"What do you mean she?" Kelly chuckled. "This little guy is all man. I'm going to name him Bloomington, after the flowers you got for me."

"Bloomington the pretty pink prince?" Hunter asked with a laugh. "Talk about identity crisis."

"He takes after you," Kelly hugged the man-bear with her one arm and she smiled up at Hunter. He shook his head.

"Maybe he'll find a big, motocross girl teddy bear that he can date?"

"You'll have to look. I'm stuck here for another few days."

Hunter laughed and rolled his eyes. He took his seat beside Kelly's bed and kissed her again. They pulled away for a moment to get comfortable. Kelly took this time to pull one over on Hunter. When he leaned in to resume, he was surprised to find Kelly's kiss was a little fuzzier than usual. He opened his eyes was met with Bloomington and laughter from Kelly.

"I had to."

"You're so lucky I love you," Hunter whispered.


	55. I Love Mommy

Hunter left Libby with Fran while he took Alex back to the school. It wasn't too late in the afternoon to stop by and have a chat with the principal. He hoped that the sooner he alerted the administration of the bullying, the sooner a solution could be found. He had decided to leave Libby behind and hoped he wasn't going to need her so tell her story. She didn't want to go back to school if she wasn't going to go to class. She knew that inside the classroom was the only place she was safe from the girls, because the teacher did all the talking.

"It's this way," Alex pointed down a hallway as he led Hunter to the main office.

"Hey, new kid!" he heard Hank's voice call to him and he cringed. Looking up, he saw it was only 3:15. He had run away from his after school beating with Hank and Jim and he knew they would be less than impressed.

Hunter had yet to turn the corner, so Hank and Jim assumed Alex was alone. They walked over to him and shoved him against the lockers. Hunter saw this happening and quickly put the pieces together. Alex was being bullied as well, and he was being picked on by these two kids. He wasn't going to interfere at this point. He needed to catch the boys doing something that couldn't be explained by typical boy behaviour.

"C'mon, guys," Alex chuckled nervously. He tried to hide his fear, especially seeing as Hunter was around. He didn't want to see weak and scared. He didn't even want to admit to himself that he was weak and scared, or even that he was being picked on. It was only the first day. He wouldn't have even told Kelly or Hunter if it had just been him, but because Libby had a rough day, he needed to do what was best for her. "Don't tell me this is the first time you've been stood up."

"You think you're funny?" Jim growled. He balled his hand into a fist and held it inches away from Alex' face. "We waited fifteen minutes for you. We had the entire football team waiting on you and you made us look pathetic."

"You don't need help there," Alex smirked. He looked around, positive that Hunter was nearby, but the older man had completely disappeared. Alex furrowed his brow, double checked his surroundings and then gulped.

"What did you say?" Hank asked as he slammed Alex into the lockers again. The impact shook Alex' entire body and it was enough to loosen his fake leg. It was still standing, but Alex knew he wasn't going to be able to walk away until he locked it back into place.

"Answer him, new kid!" Jim shouted and Hank started to lift Alex off the ground. Alex looked down just in time to see his leg fall out of his pants and onto the ground. The two bullies also noticed this and looked down in horror before finally realising what happened. Jim grabbed the leg off the floor and held it up.

"Looky here," he said while tossing the leg from one hand to another. He nudged Hank, "Look, it still has the shoe."

"Put it down," Alex frowned.

Hank let Alex drop to the ground before he took the leg from Jim. He pointed it at Alex. As the boy tried reaching for his leg, Hank pulled it away.

"You'll get this back after school tomorrow, when you show up for that fight," he said. "Make sure you bring that pretty little girl you were with too. We'll take care of her when you lose. We know she's not the most… one minute," Hank growled when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He thought it was Jim and made nothing of it.

"You don't want to put me on hold," a voice Hank didn't recognise said. He turned around, still with the leg in hand, and found a masked figure standing behind him. He laughed along with Jim, thinking this was just one of the upperclassmen trying to be funny. Neither were scared of the older students.

"Look, a ninja," Jim chuckled. He reached out to unmask the Ninja, but Hunter swatted his hand away. He wasn't going to attack the kids. Though he thought they deserved it, Sensei Omino and Sensei Watanabe taught him better than that. But when Jim reached out again, Hunter grabbed his wrist and pushed him into the locker forcefully. He turned to Hank.

"Give the kid his leg back," he growled.

Hank hid the leg behind his back as he glared at the ninja, "Make me," he said. He wasn't scared.

Hunter sighed. He was getting too old for this. He took a step closer to Hank before Ninja Streaking around him and snatching the leg from his hands. Hank wasn't quick enough to see any of this happening. One minute, the ninja was standing before him, the next; he was standing there with the leg in his hand.

"How did you…?" Hank asked before suddenly lunging for the Ninja. Hunter stepped aside and watched as Hank charged past him, stumbled forward, and fell. He chuckled. Jim tried to attack, but Hunter jumped out of the way and watched as Jim swung and his fist connected with Hank, who was turning back for another shot at the Ninja.

Hank held his jaw as he glared at his friend, "Dude!"

"Sorry," Jim frowned. "You hold him; I'll get the next shot."

Hunter stood in the middle of the hallway with his arms crossed. As much as he wanted to pound the boys for picking on Alex and making comments about Libby, he found it much more entertaining to watch them beat each other up. To make things even better, he wasn't going to have any blood on his hands and he wouldn't feel any guilt for beating up sixteen year old boys. It was like attending a free show and getting fat-free popcorn on the house!

Hank growled as he walked over to Hunter and held him in place. Hunter rolled his eyes, the only part of his body the two boys could see. Jim saw this and frowned.

"You're not going to be bored when we're done with you," he said. "Hold him steady, Hank."

"Just throw the punch!" Hank shouted. Jim made a fist and swung at Hunter. The ninja leaned his head to the side and chuckled when Jim's fist again connected with Hank's face. The teenager stumbled backwards and Jim's eyes widened. He looked at Hunter.

"Will you stand still?"

Hunter shrugged, "Okay."

"Let me get him," Hank growled, tried of his friend's failed attempts. He swung at Hunter, but was still dizzy from getting hit in the head. He missed Hunter, stumbled forward, and landed in Jim's arms. Hunter chuckled again. He hadn't anticipated that, but things were working out.

Jim let go of Hank and watched him fall, "Dude!"

"Are you guys going to give up anytime soon?" Hunter asked. He rolled up his sleeve to check his watch, "I've got to get back to my girlfriend before she drives the doctors crazy."

"We'll get you this time," Hank said. He stood back up and dropped into a fighting stance. A million thoughts raced through Hunter's head as his sensei brain started acting up. He had so many corrections to make, just on the boy's upper body posture alone.

"My grandmother can do better than that," he said, "and the only time she ever comes close to standing in when she gets the question right on reruns of jeopardy."

Hank shouted as he kicked at Hunter, but the Ninja caught his leg and held it up. Jim tried the same, only to end up just like Hank, with one foot in the air.

Hunter yawned until he looked down at Alex and remembered the boys threatened to take his leg away. He started to walk forward down the hallway, and the two boys had to hop to keep themselves from falling.

"Maybe next time you see a kid with one leg, you'll remember what it feels like to hop around," Hunter stated as he picked up the pace. To add to the fun, Hunter grabbed both feet and held them in one hand while he tied the shoelaces together with the other. He let the boys hop a little further before dropping their legs and turning around. The boys tried rushing after him, but tripped over their own feet and landed face first on the hard hallway floor.

Finally defeated, they kicked off their shoes and ran off.

Hunter smiled behind his mask before turning to Alex. He helped the boy up once his leg was back on and brushed him off.

"So, those are the kids…"

"That was hilarious!" Alex laughed, but he furrowed his brow when he saw Hunter was still wearing his mask. "Hey, aren't you…?"

Hunter pointed to one of the school's camera, "Secret identities. How about you go to the office while I find a safe place to change?"

"Okay," Alex nodded.

Hunter watched him leave before he turned the corner and stepped out of the school. He pulled off his mask and sighed. He wasn't sure if humiliating the two boys was going to keep them from picking on Alex, or if it was going to make things worse. At least if he managed to talk to the principal, though, he could alert the administration and the teachers of the bullying and they could keep an eye on Alex and Libby when he wasn't around. After all, Hunter couldn't stalk the school during regular hours. Being a ninja was already a creepy career choice, being a ninja and stalking students went so far beyond creepy Hunter wasn't sure what it was.

-Fight-Flight-

"Higher," Libby muttered as she watched the RPM Rangers put the final touches on the new Storm Chargers. While under Fran's care, she was stuck in the store as it was being renovated. Fran and Tori were a little nervous about letting her use the tools, and Libby wasn't even very sure about what it was she could help with, so she had taken a seat on the couches that had been delivered.

But Libby could no longer just sit and watch Flynn and Scott tried to set up a picture. The height was all wrong, she could tell instantly. It just didn't look right. None of the pictures did.

In order to decorate the store, Tori suggested they get pictures that Kelly had taken of herself, Dustin, Shane, Blake and Hunter while they were practicing their sports. Kelly had always talked about hanging a few up in the old store, but never found a spot to put them. So, Tori had some new pictures taken with permission from her friends and printed off so she could hang them in the store.

Libby loved the pictures. They were very beautiful. But the placement was all wrong.

Scott and Flynn turned when they heard her comment, "What?"

"It needs to go higher," Libby whispered. "They all need to be higher," she narrowed her eyes and looked at the wall before smiling; "just a few inches up and they'll be perfect."

"Are you kidding me?" Scott groaned. "We already have most of them up!"

"Looks like Libby still has her eye for décor," Tori smirked. She turned to the boys, "You heard her. Higher."

"While you're at it, maybe move that yellow one to the left a little," Libby added. "There's a glare from the light and if you move it to the left you'll center it between the blue and navy one."

"Are you…"

"You heard her," Tori chuckled and Scott groaned again.

"You're pretty good at this," Fran commented. She arrived to the couches with a mug of hot chocolate for Libby. She handed the girl her drink. "I should have hired you earlier."

Libby shrugged, "It just looks off. Can't you see it?"

Fran shook her head, "Nope. Any other critiques you have for this place? Anything you think Kelly would love to see here?"

"Um?" Libby tapped her chin. "I'm not actually sure."

"I'd love to see a break," Summer said. She was in charge of stocking the shelves in both the front room and the back room and she was really starting to grow jealous of Scott and Flynn's work. All they had to do was lift a few pictures and fix up a few last minute details on the walls and ceiling. She had to lift the products onto all the shelves. The lower shelves hurt her back and knees from having to bend over and kneel and the higher shelves were just a pain, especially in the back room.

"You're almost done," Fran smiled.

Tori joined the two on the couches and looked at Libby, "I don't know how much you know about the old you, or how much you want to know, but you used to work for Kelly."

"I think she mentioned that once," Libby nodded. "Did I work here?"

Tori nodded, "Yeah, you did. You wanted to earn your own money so you got a job."

"Maybe I can get my job back?" Libby asked. "Kelly and Hunter used to talk about needing money and jobs give you money, right?"

"They do," Fran said.

"Can I work here?" Libby begged. "I'm a fast learner! If you show me what to do, I know I can do it! Alex says I pick up on things quickly."

"You actually want to work?" Tori asked. "You don't want to… you know, not slave away in a store after spending an entire day at school?"

"Kelly's going to be here, right?" Libby asked. "I want to be with Kelly and the rest of my family. Wherever she goes, Hunter goes, and Alex follows me around. We'll all be together."

"The only teenager who wants to be with her parents," Fran chuckled to Tori before she pat Libby on the leg, "Tell you what, kid, once we surprise Kelly with this place, you can ask her for a job. I think she'll have a better idea of if you're ready to join the workforce or not."

"But I want to work," Libby frowned and crossed her arms. "I want a job!"

"She's in the _I-love-mommy_ phase that kids go through," Summer explained to Tori and Fran. "It's probably worse because Kelly's in the hospital and not around as much."

"You'll still see her a lot," Fran assured Libby. "She'll probably be at work while you're in school, and then she'll be home with you and Alex in the evening."

Libby shook her head, "That's not good enough."

"We'll see what we can do," Tori promised Libby while giving Fran a doubtful look. She wasn't sure if Libby was emotionally mature enough to handle long work hours, especially when the job involved focusing attention on customers. If Libby was in the _I-love-mommy_ phase, she was going to get jealous every time she saw Kelly leave her to be with someone else.

"I want to be here!" Libby stated again. "I want Kelly, Hunter and Alex to all work here."

Tori shook her head and muttered, "I don't envy them at all."

"She has her moments," Fran sighed. "Moments when she's not difficult. Most of them are when she's sleeping…"


	56. Libby Wants to Learn

It was the middle of the night and Libby couldn't sleep. Hunter had tucked her into bed with her bear and blanket, the nightlight was turned on, the door was opened, and yet Libby still didn't feel like she could close her eyes and drift off to sleep.

She tossed and turned in her bed. Through the wall she could hear Fran talking on the phone. The noise didn't bother her. It sounded like a story to Libby, even if it was one sided. Since Fran began staying here, she had phoned her real home every night to catch up with all her friends and hear the latest news. She had been particularly excited when she heard that Casey and Lily went out on their first date and she wanted to know how the new couple was doing and exactly what had caused the sudden relationship. She was a little concerned for Lily, but RJ had assured her that Casey had the right intentions (and he had already been threatened by RJ and Theo).

Normally the chatter put her to sleep. It was like a bedtime story for Libby. But tonight, she couldn't close her eyes. Tonight she was feeling too worked up.

When Hunter put her to bed, she had asked him about school. She didn't want to go back and face those girls. They scared Libby. They said words that hurt her and they were in all her classes. She didn't want to get hurt again.

Suddenly, she remembered something important. Alex was supposed to teach her how to work her locker. He had promised he was going to help her after school, but he never got around to it. Libby wanted him to teach her before she had to go back; because Hunter told her she didn't have much choice in that matter. If she knew how to work a locker maybe the girls would stop calling her stupid and all those other hurtful names.

She hopped out of bed and while still cuddling her bear, she walked over to her backpack and started looking around inside for her lock. She knew she had put it there after Alex gave it to her. When she felt something cold and hard brush her fingers, she snatched it and pulled it out of the bag. She smiled when she recognised it.

"I got it!" she said to her bear. She looked at the lock with a perplexed stare. There was no way she was ever going to figure this out on her own.

"You stay here," she whispered to her bear as she placed him back on her pillow. She tapped the top of his head, "I'm going to go figure this out. Don't worry, I'll be back."

She clutched the lock with her hand and stepped outside her bedroom. She looked at Alex' door. Fran was on the other side talking on the phone. Hunter told her it was rude to interrupt people on the phone, so Libby wasn't going to go there.

She then looked at Hunter and Kelly's door. Kelly wasn't home, and Libby could hear Hunter snoring loudly. It made her a little uneasy. On top of that, the bedroom was always dark, and Hunter didn't wake up when the door opened like Kelly. She didn't want to have to stumble her way through the dark, scary room while Hunter snored like an angry bear.

She looked over the railing and saw Alex sleeping on the living room couch. She smiled to herself and rushed down the stairs with the lock still in hand. She stopped right in front of the couch and dropped the lock on Alex' chest. He woke with a start.

"Tuna!"

"Fish!" Libby giggled.

Alex rubbed his eyes and sat up, "Hey, Lib. What's wrong?"

Libby picked up the lock from his chest, "You're supposed to teach me how this thing works."

Alex yawned. He scratched himself, "We'll have time tomorrow. Can't you…"

"You're supposed to teach me now," Libby stated and she stomped her foot on the ground. Alex checked the time.

"It's midnight, Libs. I'm tired…"

"NOW!" Libby shouted.

"Okay, okay," he made room on the couch for Libby to sit. While she got comfortable, Alex took the lock from her hand. "Okay, Libs, this is actually very easy to do," he turned the lock over, "you see these three numbers on the back?"

"I can't count that high, yet," Libby frowned. "Those are big numbers."

"Well, that's okay," Alex said. "I got you an easy lock, okay. Now, just remember what these three numbers look like, okay? 20-35-15."

"A two and a zero, a three and a five, and then a one and a five," Libby nodded her head. Alex ripped the paper off the back and turned the lock back over. He pointed to the matching numbers.

"There's all printed here," he told her. "20-35-15, all you have to do is line up the little arrow with the numbers in that same order."

"Oh!" Libby smiled. She grabbed the lock from Alex and made her first attempt, but when she pulled on the lock, it didn't budge. She gave it back to Alex, "It's broken."

"Okay, next step," Alex said. He was proud Libby was catching on quickly, especially with the higher numbers. It felt good teaching her something and that feeling never got old, "The first time you want to spin the arrow around twice before you go to the number," he handed the lock to Libby, "Go ahead, try it."

Libby spun the arrow around twice before matching it up to the 20. Alex smiled and nodded.

"Good, now this time spin the arrow around once, but in the other direction, and then go to the 35."

Libby did as she was told.

"Wow, Libs, good job," Alex encouraged. "This time, you're going to go back in the first direction, but you're going to go straight to the last number. So go right to 15."

Again, Libby did as instructed and then she pulled on the lock. Her eyes shone with delight when the lock opened up. She bounced in her seat.

"I did it!" she cried happily. She presented the open lock to Alex, "Look! Look! I did it! I did it! All by myself!"

"Great job, Libs," Alex nodded. "Now can we go back to bed?"

"I want to do it again," Libby smiled. "Can you show me how to do it again?"

"I…"

"Please?" Libby begged with an innocent look. Alex sighed.

"Two spins and then 20."

-Fight-Flight-

Kelly wasn't expecting visitors at this hour. She was hardly even awake when she heard a knock at the door. She muttered for them to go away under her breath, but it obviously wasn't loud enough for them to hear. The door opened, and Dustin and Dominic walked in.

"Are you awake?" Dustin asked carefully as he approached the bed.

"I want to hurt you so bad," Kelly grumbled.

"She's awake," Dominic laughed.

Kelly sat up in her bed awkwardly. It was hard moving around with both arms in casts, especially when they both stopped at different heights, but she was getting used to it. She was hoping to be discharged soon.

"I didn't know the hospital allowed visitors at this hour," she said. She looked at the time, "It's three A.M?"

"We know," Dustin said. "We're here to talk to you about Alex and Libby."

"Are they okay?" was Kelly's first reaction. If she could, she would jump out of the bed and run back home to check up on them. Sadly, the reason she was in the hospital and not already at home was because she couldn't do that.

"They're fine," Dominic assured the woman. "We've been chosen to be their Masters."

"Senseis," Dustin corrected. Dominic rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to train Libby to harness her animal spirit," Dominic said. "Once I get her comfortable with the way of the Pai Zhuq, the others are going to assist her in her training. We've already talked about multiple Masters, different training techniques and the positive effect they have on strengthening the bond between master and spirit."

"Yeah, blah, blah, nonsense," Kelly nodded.

"And I'm going to train Alex in the way of the Ninja," Dustin grinned proudly. "Hopefully he turns out to be an Earth… or Water. I suck at training Air ninjas…"

"You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me this?" Kelly asked.

Dominic nodded and sighed. He pointed to Dustin, "He woke me up too. He's excited."

"And I have a right to be!" Dustin said. "I'm finally getting the chance to train a friend! Do you know how exciting it is to watch someone you care about grow and learn before your eyes?"

"I'm a parent now, Dustin," Kelly nodded. "I'm getting the picture."

"Right…"

"We were thinking of starting their training tomorrow afternoon," Dominic explained. "Right after school. We'll take them away before they get home and…"

"Take them away?" Kelly frowned. She shook her head, "No."

"But Cam and RJ should have a new portal opened up by then and private grounds… That's the only place we can train in our secret ways."

"Yeah, dude. We can't just train them in the middle of the day in the middle of the city."

"I meant no to taking Libby away. Alex is going to be over the moon, but Libby is going to be terrified. Either take Hunter or Fran with you guys, or you're not training her," Kelly stated and she crossed her arm over her chest in a half threatening manner. It still terrified Dustin, but Dominic wasn't as fazed.

"She'll have Alex," he said. "Anyways, the whole point behind bringing Libby back was to give her an animal spirit. She needs this."

"She'll need to feel safe if you want to teach her," Kelly said. "Alex will be too busy with Dustin, so you'll need someone else that she knows she can trust. At this point, I'm pretty sure she's okay with Fran, and I know she's fine with Hunter."

"But…"

"Take it or leave it," Kelly growled.

Dominic turned to Dustin who shrugged.

"It can't hurt, dude."

"We'll take one of them… but they'll both be busy… Fran's still working on St… something and Hunter's helping RJ."

"Hunter can take a break," Kelly said. "Now, go and leave me to sleep. And if I hear you guys terrified Libby, even for a second, I'm going to rip your heads off."

"Got it!" Dustin saluted. He pulled Dominic out of the room quickly so Kelly could get her sleep. He didn't want to suffer her wrath, especially if she was tired.

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter walked into Libby's room after he was all dressed and ready for the day. She had an hour and a half before she needed to get to school and he wanted her to be on time. Late students were always noticed, and Libby was going to have to keep a low profile at school, especially with girls picking on her.

He turned on her light and approached her bed but found it was empty. He looked around the room. Her clothes were still laid out, so Fran hadn't come in yet. He could still hear the shower going, so it was impossible that Libby was with Fran.

Alex was never awake at this time of day, no matter how hard Hunter tried to roll him out of bed. It was physically impossible for the teenager to wake up until ten minutes before he had to be out the door. He learned that lesson yesterday.

Hunter patted down the blankets, hoping maybe Libby had curled herself into a ball, but the bed was still empty. He checked under the bed, in the closet, in the bed again and behind the door before panic started to set it. Where could she have gone? Nowhere was good for the teenager given her mental state.

He rushed out of her bedroom in a panic, "Libby?" he shouted. He raced down the stairs, "Libby? Where are you?"

He checked the front door of the house. It was still locked. She couldn't have gotten out unless she learned how to lock the door behind her when she left. He felt slightly relieved, before he remember the house had a side door and a backdoor as well. The backdoor couldn't be locked from the outside, so he would know if she left from there, but the side door locked automatically.

"Olivia!" he shouted as he ran through the house looking for the girl. Thoughts raced through his head. She had been bullied the day before at school. Bullying was terrifying for anyone, never mind someone so innocent. She didn't want to go back, but Hunter told her she didn't have a choice. She slept alone in her room at night and the only person she truly wanted to make her feel better lately was Kelly, her mother.

But Kelly wasn't home. She was at the hospital.

Scared that Libby tried to find her way to the hospital, Hunter raced to the living room to grab the phone. He plucked it from the chest of a sleeping Alex, who was passed out on the coffee table, and started dialling the number for Kelly's room.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that Alex was sleeping on the coffee table. He hung up the phone and looked down at the boy and then turned to the couch to see what exactly was forcing the boy onto the hard table.

There, sleeping soundly with a blanket draped over her and a lock in her hands cuddled up against her chest was Libby. Hunter's heart sunk as he fell to his knees beside the couch.

"Thank you," he whispered. He stroked the side of her face and called her name softly, "Libby? Rise and shine, silly girl."

Libby groaned as she was pulled from her sleep. Hunter slowly removed the blanket from on top of her and laid it against the back of the couch. Libby sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked as she looked around. Hunter chuckled.

"I'm been asking myself that all morning," he said. "You're on the couch in the living room. What are you doing out of bed?"

Libby frowned before she remembered the lock in her hands. It was still opened. She smiled and showed it to Hunter.

"Look at what I learned!" she said. "Alex taught me last night! Now I won't be stupid and those girls will like me! And he told me what a quadratic equation was. Next time the teacher asks, I can give him the real answer and the kids will like me."

"Libby," Hunter shook his head and laughed. Life wasn't that easy, but Libby was technically just a kid. Nothing was complicated for her. "Fran'll be out of the shower soon, but how about you try putting your clothes on without her help today. Do you think you can manage that?"

Libby nodded; "I can do it!" she hopped off the couch and skipped up the stairs, "Just watch, I can do it all by myself. I don't need Fran or anybody to help me."

"Atta girl," Hunter chuckled. He turned to Alex, who was still completely passed out. How the boy slept on a coffee table, Hunter would never know, "You're a good brother, kid."

From the top of the stairs, Libby heard this and for a moment she was confused. She knew about family relationships. There was a mother, a father and then kids. The boy kids were called brothers, and the girl kids were called sisters. If Alex was her brother (which he had called himself that at school before), and Hunter was acknowledging that too, did that mean they were a real family too? If Alex was a brother, then there had to be a mother and a father. Was Libby the sister?

She rushed into her room and put her clothes on while Hunter got started on breakfast. Fran finished up her shower and walked into Libby's room just as she finished getting ready and was surprised to see the teenager had dressed herself properly. She smiled, nodded, and gave Libby a thumbs up. Excited, Libby ran out of her bedroom.

"Dad!" she called down the stairs. "Dad! I did it! I did it all by myself."

Hunter's heart stopped when he heard that. Not because Libby was dressed, but because of what she had called him.

"Dad?" he frowned and turned around, but the smile on Libby's face was contagious. He grinned back and flashed her a thumbs up as well. He could get used to being dad.


	57. Kokoro

"Just stick close to me until the lunch period is over, okay?" Alex said to Libby as the two carried their lunch trays to an empty table. Libby glanced over to where the mean girls were sitting. They were watching her with an angry stare and Libby couldn't understand why. She spent all morning trying to be their friend whenever they approached her and Alex, but they ignored her and pushed her down. Alex had done a good job at defending her. He told them to bug off, he called them disgusting and he even asked the teacher if he and Libby could move their desks elsewhere in the classroom to get away.

Libby couldn't see it, but Alex knew why they were being so rude to her. They were naturally mean, that was the main reason, but he knew they had been making attempts to flirt with him. They were obvious. He was flattered they were into him, but he didn't have time for a romantic relationship at this point, and even if he did, he would never go out with any girl who treated Libby poorly.

He knew the girls wanted him and were willing to do anything to get to him. Unfortunately, Libby wasn't helping anyone by getting in their way and stealing all of Alex' attention. In reality, that was the second reason she was being picked on. Alex tried to assure the girls that Libby was his sister, but the difference in last names wasn't backing him up at all.

"I don't want you to protect me all the time," Libby said as she took her seat at the table.

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not going to do it forever, Libs. Just for a little while. Until you find your place."

"My place?" Libby frowned. "I have five places: this chair here and all the chairs in my classes. Aren't those my places?"

"A different kind of place," Alex chuckled. "You'll know it when you find it. Don't worry… oh no…"

Libby looked over her shoulder when she saw Alex' face fall. Jim and Hank were walking over to them and were shoving people out of their path. They didn't look happy.

"New kid!" Hank shouted. He grabbed Alex by the shirt and lifted him up from the chair while Jim grabbed his leg and ripped it off to show the entire school.

Hank dropped Alex back on the ground and snatched the leg from his friend. He hopped up onto the stage build into one of the walls of the cafeteria and tossed the leg up. Alex waited in horror for it to come crashing back down, but it never did.

Hank hopped off the stage and stood over Alex, "Humiliate us with your ninja again and we're going to put you up there, got it?"

"Hey," Libby whined. "Give him his foot back!"

Jim grabbed Libby by the arm. She tried to pull away but he didn't let go. His grip tightened, causing Libby to whimper.

"We'll take care of your sister/girlfriend until after school. You can get her back at three o'clock, after our fight."

"Leave her out of this," Alex growled from the floor. He didn't want to get up and embarrass himself further.

Suddenly, both Hank and Jim felt someone slap the back of their heads. They turned to see who had the guts to stand up to them.

A girl walked between the two of them while giving them disappointed stares. She touched Jim's hand, the one he was using to hold Libby, and then pinched it. Jim let go without further protest.

"What are your girlfriends going to think when they hear you've been picking on the new kids?" the girl asked the boys while shaking her head. "Seriously, guys, can't you just eat lunch like the rest of us?"

"Head-cheerleader bitch," one of the girls who had been picking on Libby the day before muttered loud enough for the cafeteria to hear.

"Koko…" Hank started.

"Just go back to your table," the girl sighed. Hank and Jim lowered their heads and turned to walk away.

As Jim walked past Alex, he muttered: "You're lucky today, new kid."

The girl, Koko, smiled as she turned to Alex and Libby and quickly offered Alex a hand. He took it and got to his foot while Libby grabbed a chair for him to sit in.

"Thanks," Alex whispered to Koko. She grinned.

"No problem. I'm Kokoro, but everyone here calls me Koko. You two must be the newest additions to Corinth High."

"Yeah, sadly," Alex muttered. He pointed in Jim and Hank's direction, "Do they always pick on people like that or did I do something."

"You have something they want," Koko said. "Trust me, they picked on my brother so much when we first started here that he had to leave the school. He's homeschooled now."

"What do they want?" Alex frowned. He wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

"Just keep an eye on who your sister dates," was all Koko said about the matter. "The athletes are pretty popular, but when they date, they're out for one thing, and one thing only… trust me."

"Alex," Libby whispered, "What's a head-cheerleader?"

"I cheer the athletes on during sports events," Koko explained to Libby. "I keep their spirits high and make sure all the other cheerleaders are doing the same."

"Queen Bitch," Alex muttered before he remembered that Koko saved him and Libby. He looked up at her, "Oops, I'm sorry…"

"Normally we are," Koko laughed. "I kinda like to break that stereotype. Anyways, how about we go find the janitor and see what he can do about your leg? You might want it back before lunch ends."

"Kinda," Alex nodded.

-Fight-Flight-

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!"

"Fran, relax," Tori laughed as she and Blake watched Fran run around the new Storm Chargers like a decapitated chicken. "The Rangers did a good job. All you have to do is clean up whatever they left behind. It should be easy."

"Hunter just called!" Fran gasped as she leaned against the counter, "The doctors are discharging her today!"

"Today?" Blake frowned.

"Today!" Fran nodded. "This place needs to be clean! It needs to be ready! It's not going to be ready… we're going to surprise Kelly with a mess! Oh no, it's going to be a disaster… it's…"

"Breathe, Fran," Lily chuckled as she and Casey walked into the store. They wanted to check it out. They heard of Fran's surprise for Kelly and thought it was sweet she was willing to help out. Finding a job was no easy business and with the family Kelly and Hunter created, they needed a job more than anyone in the Ranger family.

"Three years and we still have to keep reminding you," Casey added. Fran took a deep breath and seemed to calm down almost instantly. Tori and Blake were impressed, but slightly disappointed. A frantic Fran was hilarious to watch, especially when they knew she had nothing to worry about. If the store was cleaned on time for Kelly, it would be great, but they knew Kelly would be happy whether there was scrap pieces of paper on the floor and leftover cardboard boxes or not.

"Thanks, guys," Fran said once she calmed herself down. "I just want everything to be perfect. Kelly's going to have a lot to deal with once she gets home, and she doesn't need a messy business to add to the stress."

"How goes the temporary mother job?" Tori asked, intrigued now that Fran brought up the matter. She hadn't gotten much chance to ask Fran about Libby and how it was to take care of the infant-teenager.

"She's handful most of the time," Fran admitted openly. "She'll be happy to hear Kelly's coming home, but I think it's going to stress her out when she realises Kelly still can't help her out. But she is learning fast. She learned how to work a lock, what a quadratic equation was, and how to get dressed on her own all before breakfast."

"She doesn't sound like a baby anymore," Blake commented. "She's getting to be pretty independent."

"Yeah, and demanding," Fran sighed. "You weren't there for dinner last night. Try getting her to eat her vegetables."

"I'm sure Kelly will be happy to be back home, though," Tori smiled, "whether she's got a load of work or not."

"Probably," Fran nodded and then smiled, "But I don't think I'll be giving Kelly her biggest surprise."

"Why's that?" Casey asked.

"She called Hunter dad," Fran smiled. "It was so cute!"

"Hunter? A dad?" Blake laughed. "This I gotta see."

"But won't that make Kelly a bit jealous?" Lily asked. "I mean, if Libby's calling Hunter dad…"

"She also asked when mom was coming home," Fran grinned. "Before she left for school, she asked me: 'Aunt Fran, when is my mom coming home?"

"Aw!" Tori and Lily both cooed and the boys smiled. Fran's smile was so big it was starting to crowd her face.

"She figured it out all by herself."

-Fight-Flight-

"Thanks for all your help today," Alex smiled to Koko as they both waited for Libby to grab her stuff from her locker. Koko had promised to walk the two to the front of the school and wait until Hunter arrived to pick them up. With Koko by their side, all the school bullies kept their distance. Alex was especially pleased when he discovered Koko was in all his classes and learned she had been home sick this morning and the day before, which was why she hadn't been present to save him and Libby when the bullying started.

"Don't mention it," Koko smirked. "You're probably not going to need it once people get used to the idea of you guys being here."

"Hopefully that's the outcome," Alex nodded. He looked at Libby, "Are you ready, Libs?"

"Almost," Libby whispered. She was still shy in the presence of strangers and had barely spoken two words to Koko. It went to the point where under normal circumstances it would have been extremely rude. But Alex had been quick to come up with a white lie to explain Libby's behaviour. He told Koko that while Libby had survived the evacuations (the lie) she had suffered major brain damage which caused permanent amnesia. He explained to her that Libby had forgotten who she was completely and most of the basic ways of life, such as how things worked and why things were the way they were (that wasn't a lie). He also told her that due to her memory loss, there was only a certain group of people that Libby trusted, and it took her a lot of time to warm up to other people. Koko accepted that fact and had been very patient with Libby during the afternoon. Alex was confident she would continue to be patient, but he did have his doubts. Libby was very high maintenance and Koko didn't have a reason to stick around.

Libby put her bag on her shoulder and closed her locker. Alex and Koko had to wait while she fiddled with the lock. She loved opening it all by herself, and had to do it every time she was at her locker. The two waited patiently while Libby unlocked and then locked it up.

"Now I'm ready," she whispered with a smile. Alex nodded to Koko and the trio walked to the front of the school. Hunter promised to pick Alex and Libby up from school and told them he was going to have a surprise for them.

Alex had an idea of what it might be. When he told Hunter and Kelly about the girls picking on Libby, they discussed the idea of him and Libby starting their training.

But he wasn't expecting the surprise he found when he turned to the front of the school and saw Hunter and Kelly.

"What?" Alex gasped and froze on the spot when he saw Kelly in his school in a wheelchair. Libby was frozen for only a moment before she dropped all her things and ran over to Kelly.

"Mom!" she cried out happily, much to Kelly's delight and confusion.

"Those are your parents?" Koko asked Alex, snapping him out of his shock. "No offense, but they look a little young."

"It's complicated," Alex said. "Maybe I'll tell you another time. Thanks for all your help today… again."

"No problem," Koko smiled. She gave Alex a pat on the back before walking off. She could tell that having their mother pick them up at school was a very welcomed surprise due to the casts and the wheelchair and the fact that Libby was bouncing around with excitement. It wasn't hard to conclude she had just come from the hospital or something of the sort.

Alex approached his family, "This is the surprise?" he asked as he gave Kelly a hug.

"At least sound happy," Kelly laughed.

"I am," he nodded. "But I thought…"

"This wasn't the surprise I was talking about," Hunter smirked. "Kelly only phoned me this morning after I dropped you guys off. She was let out early… I wish I could say it was for good behaviour."

"Shut up," Kelly frowned. "I hated being there and I knew the doctors wanted my bed cleared as soon as possible. They probably love me now."

"Whatever helps you sleep."

"They have drugs for that," Alex joked. He started wheeling Kelly out of the school and to the car. They were only a few feet from the car when Dustin and Dominic approached them with a smile.

"Guess what, dudes!" Dustin grinned.

"I knew it!" Alex smiled. "We're going to start training, aren't we?"

"No," Dominic frowned, "I won a free doughnut in the drive-thru on the way here."

"Oh," Alex sighed in disappointment until Dom began to laugh.

"I'm kidding… well, not really. I did win a free doughnut…"

"But we're training?"

Hunter nodded and motioned to Dominic and Dustin.

"Libby and Alex, meet you new Senseis."

"Masters," Dom corrected.


	58. The First Training Lesson

_Author's Note: Truth be told, I never thought I would be able to say this. I know many of you readers for this series are also readers of the Kaylee Series and while some of you already know (because I know you have alerts and I do creep Faith's DT emails) I just wanted to let you all know that Faith is finishing the Dino Thunder era of little Kaylee's life. Why can I be so sure of that?_

_1- I'm actually reading the last chapter now_

_2- She's going to update them all or else she's going to get a very angry Lily on her case_

_So there you have it. Any Kaylee series fans should go check it out ASAP (well... maybe after reading this chapter and reviewing). If you're not a fan then proceed with this chapter!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"I thought I was going to learn how to kick ass," Alex whispered as he carefully opened one eyelid to examine his surroundings. He was shocked to see Dustin glaring back at him, as if he knew this was going to happen. He closed his eyes and returned to his "meditative" state.

"Meditation is the basis of all Ninja and Kung Fu training," Dominic explained as he carefully paced around Alex and Libby. "It helps you find your focus, your drive and your inner self."

"My inner self is getting anxious," Alex muttered. He opened his eyes and turned to Libby. The poor girl was practically bouncing as she sat on the floor in her meditative state. Due to her mentality being that of a toddler somewhere between the ages of two and four, she had a lot of energy and it was next to impossible for her to keep still. Dominic had to continuously place his hand on her head to keep her from bouncing right back up to her feet and running off. "And I think Libby is about to take off."

"Eyes closed," Dustin ordered his student. He tapped the boy on the head before looking up at Dom, "I now understand why Sensei and Cam were always so impatient with me, Shane and Tori… especially me…"

Dominic nodded, "Yeah, Masters did hate your kind. Thankfully, I was extremely focused in meditation," Dom smirked. "But sometimes I got so focused that I uh… lost focus and my mind started to wander. I asked a lot of questions as a kid."

"Same here," Dustin said. "But mine were more… what did he say? What are we supposed to be doing?"

"When do we get to beat people up?" Alex asked. Dustin tapped his student on the head again.

"That's later," he answered the boy. "Much later. First you need to find your inner ninja."

"And you need to reach out to your animal spirit," Dominic said gently to Libby as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She nodded enthusiastically.

A few feet away from the training mat, Hunter nudged Kelly to wake her from her sleep. She had been dozing off frequently since the meditation started and if she expected to get any sleep during the night, she needed to be awake during the day.

"Are they hitting each other yet?" Kelly asked as she opened her eyes.

"Not yet," Hunter shook his head. "That's not for another few weeks."

Kelly glared at her hands and desperately wished they weren't in casts so she could roll herself away from here. She loved the kids, her kids, but this training session was boring as hell.

Hunter noticed desperate need for entertainment in Kelly's eyes and smiled. Libby seemed to be comfortable with Dominic and Dustin at this point, and Alex was a very big help with her. If something happened, he would be able to keep her calm and remind her that she was with people she could trust. The kids didn't need them there at all at this point.

He quietly got up from his seat and walked behind Kelly's wheelchair. He began pushing her forward. Kelly felt the movement and frowned before craning her neck to look back.

"What are you doing?"

"Fran'll kill me if I don't bring you to see her," Hunter chuckled. "The kids will be fine."

"But Libby…"

"Alex is with her," Hunter assured Kelly. "And anyway, how is Libby ever going to truly discover her inner self if she never makes herself vulnerable?"

Hunter looked over his shoulder as he walked away from the students and masters. He saw Libby was opening her eyes again. She looked over to where Hunter and Kelly had been sitting a few moments ago.

Hunter slipped out of the dojo.

Libby didn't see her parents anywhere. She looked around. Still nothing.

"Mom?" Libby called softly, causing Alex to open his eyes. He too saw that Kelly and Hunter were gone. He shrugged, though. They probably had to be elsewhere.

Libby wasn't as easily soothed. "Mom? Dad?"

"Libby, close your eyes," Dominic instructed.

Libby shook her head and jumped to her feet, "Mom! Dad!" she called again.

"Libs, it's okay. We're being taught, remember? It's just like school…" Alex started, but Libby wasn't having any of it.

"No!" she shouted. She stomped her feet on the ground. "I want mom and dad! I want them now!"

"Libby…"

"NO!" Libby screamed. She pushed her brother down and ran for the door. Dominic chased after her and caught her before she could open the door and run off. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back gently. Libby struggled to get out of his grasp, but Dominic held on tightly.

"Remember, Libby, you need to stay calm," he whispered to her, hoping to get her back on task. But Libby pushed, screamed, kicked, shoved and beat her Master as he walked her back to the training mat. She had only just gotten her mother back today; she wasn't going to watch her leave again.

"I want my mommy!" Libby screamed. "Now!"

"She's worse than clone Tori," Dustin muttered. Alex and Dom bother turned to him with curious stares. He shrugged, "Before your times… wow, I feel old."

Dominic placed his hands firmly on Libby's shoulders when he got her to sit back down on the mat. He needed to hold her down so she didn't jump up again and hurt anyone, including herself. She wasn't supposed to leave yet. Ending the first training early could be detrimental to future training rituals. There needed to be rules, routine, control and discipline. Libby couldn't just end her first lesson because she missed her mommy.

But it was also important to continue through due to her mentality. If Libby went running to her parents every time things got difficult, she would never learn to master her animal spirit. She needed to develop independence and, most of all, she needed to trust her master – in this case, Dominic.

"Breathe, Olivia…"

"I don't want to breathe!" Libby screamed. She grabbed Dom's hands and tried to rip them away from her shoulders. She struggled under his grasp. "I don't want to breathe! I don't want to! I want my mommy! I want my daddy! I want them! Now! Now! Now!"

"Libby, it's okay," Alex whispered to her softly. "They'll come back to pick us up!"

"NOW!" Libby screamed again and she shoved her brother into the dirt once more. Dominic grabbed her and pulled her back. Libby wasn't happy with this at all. She shook wildly, her face turned red and her body tensed in fury.

She glared up at Dominic and clenched her hands into fists of rage. She clenched her fist so tight, her knuckles were white.

"I hate you!" she shouted at Dominic as a spirit emerged from her body – more specifically: the chest region. It held the appearance of a shinning pink blob, but even Dustin and Alex could recognise it as the beginning stages of a young animal spirit.

The pink, shinning blob rushed Dominic and tackled him to the ground. The Rhino master landed on his butt and rubbed his chest as the spirit disappeared, still unformed.

He looked at Libby. She appeared confused, scared and downright exhausted. Dominic smiled as Libby's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

Dominic crawled over to her and held her in his arms as she began to stir. Not many students managed to summon their animal spirits at such an early stage, but it wasn't unheard of. He had seen a few students in his class along call forth their spirits in the first lesson and it always left them tired. When that did happen, Master Mao usually called for the end of the lesson and he took care of the students who summoned their animals. Dominic had never been told why it was so important for the Master to form a special bond with those students, but he had witnessed the positive effects that it seemed to have not only for the spirit and holder, but for the student and the master.

"Is she going to be okay?" Alex asked in a worried tone. Dominic nodded.

"Close your eyes; do as your Master tells you."

"Sensei," Dustin corrected.

-Fight-Flight-

"It's a cliff, isn't it?" Kelly asked as she was wheeled by Hunter, blindfolded. Hunter didn't want the surprise to be ruined by the large sign at the front of the shop, so he had her put on a blindfold when they got out of the car (or, rather, he put on the blindfold).

"It's not a cliff," Hunter chuckled. Kelly was convinced he was trying to push her off a cliff, most likely because she couldn't see and could barely move. It would have been the perfect plan. But he didn't want to push her off a cliff. He got to the door and knocked on it. "Would a cliff have a door?"

"Sometimes, when Wild E. Coyote fell off a cliff, he ran through a door," Kelly shrugged.

"A cartoon? Seriously?" Hunter furrowed his brow at his girlfriend while Fran opened the door. She had to contain her excited giggle so as not to spoil the surprise in anyway. She held the door open why Hunter wheeled the chair inside.

"What? After all that ninja nonsense I just lived through, you can't expected me not to believe in the cartoon world too."

Hunter gave Fran a look before he rolled his eyes. He then leaned down so he was closer to Kelly's ear.

"You know how Fran's been helping us out while you were at the hospital?" he asked her and Kelly nodded her head. "Well, she's been doing a lot of work with Libby but, while Libby's been at school, there's been nothing for Fran to do?"

"Your point?" Kelly asked.

"My point is: Fran took on a project of her own when she realised how important it was for us to get started on this whole weird family thing," Hunter said. "She kinda realised we're going to need money in about a month, and neither of us really found a place to work… unless you want RJ's zebra pants."

"I want my own source of income, thank you very much," Kelly said.

"Exactly," Hunter nodded as he reached for the knot in her blindfold. He untied it slowly, "So, Fran got Tori and the Rangers to help her out for a day and… voilà!"

He ripped the blindfold off and heard Kelly gasp loudly as her eyes fell upon the new and definitely improved Storm Chargers. Thanks to Tori's wonderful memory, the inside of the store was almost an exact replica of the old Storm Chargers, which was a big help for Kelly's ability to recognise where the hell she was. The difference was mostly in style, décor, and the arrangement of the store itself, due to the different location. But the surfboards were still placed in front of the window, the skateboards were sitting hung up on the wall, the protective gear was still arranged neatly on a shelf, the bikes were lined in a row beside the door and along the wall, and racks of clothes and other useful gear for any extreme sport littered the middle of the store.

"How did you…?" Kelly barely managed to stammer out as she turned to Fran.

"It was a lot of work," Fran nodded. "But RJ's got JKP, and we all like working there, but you never stopped talking about making a new Storm Chargers and I just figured it would really help you out if you didn't need to worry about finding your own place and stuff like that after getting out of the hospital. I had some spare time and thought it would be a good idea."

"A really good idea," Kelly grinned. "If I weren't all banged up, I would swallow you in a never-ending hug."

Fran smiled proudly as she leaned over and accepted what would be called a _Kelly hug_ for the next few weeks. Kelly couldn't move her broken arm, but had the use of her other arm due to her cast only going up to about mid-forearm. It was only her wrist that was broken, so there was no need to torture her further.

She wrapped her good arm around Fran in a _Kelly hug _and squeezed her newest best friend tight before letting go and turning around to Hunter. With her good arm, she punched him in the stomach.

"Move, boyfriend. Best friend gets to wheel me around!"

Hunter held his stomach as he backed away from the back of Kelly's chair. Even while broken, she still packed a punch. He let Fran grab the handles and push Kelly around to show her the new store while he went and took a seat on the couches. He kicked his feet up. It was just as he remembered it.

Hopefully Kelly was going to hire him back.

-Fight-Flight-

"Are you sure the lesson isn't broken?" Alex asked as he sat on the bench with Dustin while he waited for Dom and Libby to finish up their lesson. After Libby had come too, she felt much calmer. It was like she forgot about Hunter and Kelly leaving, though everyone knew that wasn't true. She had cried when she noticed they were still missing, but Dominic did calm her down eventually and got her back on topic. He got her to ask about her animal spirit, and once Libby realised that she owned a spirit, questions started falling out of her mouth and she was completely distracted.

Alex, on the other hand, spend his entire session meditating, resulting in his belief that the lesson was broken.

Dustin chuckled, "It's not broken."

"Then why did Libby summon a blob, and I got squat?"

"Every student develops at their own pace," Dustin explained. "Believe it or not, I was an early bloomer too. Kinda like Libby. Shane and Tori were late. Very late, really. It can depend on many things. How connected you are to your inner element before trying to call it, or how easily you open yourself up to the new experience."

"So, which is Libby?" Alex asked as he looked at the girl – his sister.

Dustin shrugged, "Not too sure, actually. It probably works different for Pai Zhuq. She's got to be connected to her spirit already…"

"Duh, it's basically her in animal form," Alex said.

"Yeah… maybe it's because she was born to do this," Dustin said. He shrugged his shoulders again. He didn't have the answer. "I mean, the Masters in the sky kinda sent her back here to do exactly this. Maybe that put her a step ahead."

"Lucky," Alex grumbled. "When am I going to find my element?"

"Soon, Grasshopper," Dustin laughed while patting Alex on the shoulder.

Libby and Dom finished up their lesson and Libby jumped to her feet. She skipped over to Alex and took his hands.

"Master Dom said we could go get ice cream!" she exclaimed. "C'mon! Hurry up, Alex! I want ice-cream!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Alex laughed as he was pulled to his feet by his sister. "Geez, is ice-cream so universally good that you get excited to have it without knowing what it is?"

"Yeah!" Libby nodded. "Master Dom explained it to me! He said it's the most amazing thing I'll ever have! Now hurry up! It's going to melt before we get there!"

"You heard her," Dom called, a laugh evident in his voice, "Hurry up, boys! _She's_ not going to wait forever!"


	59. JKP's Diet Soda and Wings Dilemma

Casey poked his head into Lily's room after knocking on the door. Today was a big day for the Jungle Rangers. Renovations were complete on the new restaurant, JKP, and RJ had been putting up flyers and doing his best to promote his new restaurant to the public. Today was the big opening, and he hoped for a great outcome.

As a result, RJ asked that everyone who wanted a job at JKP show up to work today, no exceptions. That meant everyone, including Lily, was being asked to work if they wanted a job.

Worried for his girlfriend, Casey wanted to make sure she was getting ready. Lily needed a job, like everyone else, but he wasn't sure how she would handle being back in the workforce while treatment for her PTSD was still underway.

"Are you ready?" he asked her, though both knew that he actually wanted to ask _do you think you'll be able to handle this?_

Lily was already dressed in her green JKP shirt, her zebra pants and the orange baseball cap (which she still wore backwards), but she was sitting on the bed looking very unsure of herself. Casey stepped inside the room and walked over to her. He knelt down before her and took her hands.

"I can talk to RJ," he suggested. Lily shook her head.

"No… he's right. He might need us all today. I can't let him down."

"Lily…"

"And if he doesn't, I'll be the first he'll send home, right?" Lily asked as she looked Casey in the eyes. The former red Ranger nodded.

"I'm sure that's what he's planning," he said. "But only do this if you're sure about it. Don't do it just because RJ says your job is on the line."

"I need to help," Lily said. Casey smiled. Ever since her treatment began, he noticed she was more willing to step up to the plate and confront events and situations that seemed challenging or fearful to her. However, she still needed to work on actually overcoming the event or situation without falling back into her regular freak out. Casey was worried that Lily was building herself up now, but that when she got into work, the stress, the people, the demands, the noise and the chaos would cause her to relapse.

But he needed to be supportive. He didn't need a therapist to know that support was the best thing for Lily. And he was her boyfriend, after all. Support was kind of the key element of that role.

"If you're sure," he repeated and Lily nodded her head. Casey continued, "I'll be right there with you and so will RJ, Theo, Dom and Fran. We'll all be working wait-staff or in the kitchen. If you start feeling anything, you can talk to any of us."

"I know," Lily nodded.

"You can do this," Casey smiled as he offered her a comforting hug. "And it doesn't have to be perfect. Just don't mix up diet and regular drinks, okay?"

Lily laughed, "Got it."

-Fight-Flight-

"C'mon, Kel, RJ thinks it'll be packed. I'll hang up a few posters for you in the restaurant and then after the party we can focus on Storm Chargers…" Hunter groaned as he tried to get himself, the kids, and Kelly out the door. RJ had invited him and the other ninjas to the Grand Opening of JKP.

But Kelly was still excited for her new store. She wanted to get everything ready. Hunter knew she wouldn't be able to work for at least a few more weeks (he knew her determination would get her out of that chair the minute the doctor took the casts off). Even with the hours of physiotherapy she was going to need to need on her legs and arm, he was positive she was going to be a working mother before her body was ready. He desperately wanted to make sure he could push off her start date to as far back as possible.

Or at least push back the Grand Opening of Storm Chargers. Anything as long as Kelly wasn't put under the strain and stress of dealing with the public.

He nudged Alex when he saw Kelly wasn't about to let herself be moved. Alex looked at Hunter before he shrugged. Hunter glared at the boy.

Alex cleared his throat, "C'mon, Kel! I'm hungry!" he shook his head behind her back. For once, he wasn't feeling very hungry. He just had breakfast.

"You guys can go. I have a lot of work to get done for the store," Kelly said. Hunter directed his glare at her. She was really starting to drive him crazy.

"How exactly are you going to move around?" he asked. "At best, you'll just go in circles. You can't move that other arm, remember?"

"I'll figure it out."

Hunter groaned. The good thing about the wheelchair was that if Kelly didn't want to move, he could simply roll her. He had done it many times before. When she was in the way of the TV, he rolled her to the side. When she was in the middle of the way, he rolled her to the side. When she was bugging him with questions regarding Opening Day for her store, he rolled her into a corner.

Now, he was going to roll her to the restaurant. He grabbed the handlebars and started pushing. To his surprise, Kelly had finally figured out how to keep him from pushing her around. With her one good hand, she locked the wheel on her chair. The other wheel would still roll, but this one was doing an amazing job at staying put. The end result…

"She spins!" Libby cried out happily and excitedly as she watched her parents spin around in a circle. Hunter had and annoyed look on his face, while Kelly seemed content.

The crimson Ranger finally stopped pushing her. He looked at Alex.

"Get your ass over here," he told the boy. Alex looked around the room, hoping Hunter wasn't talking to him. However, Hunter wouldn't use that language with Libby, and there was no one else in the room. Defeated, he took a step forward.

"Yes?"

"On the count of three, we lift," Hunter instructed. "One, two, three!"

Hunter and Alex both gripped the chair and lifted it. Slowly, but surely, they carried Kelly and the chair out the door. Libby was amazed at this solution. Kelly wasn't.

"You both suck."

-Fight-Flight-

"Finger food!" Scott cried out when once again he saw Summer reaching for her fork and knife. She was eating pizza, for crying out loud! Pizza deserved to be eaten with the fingers.

"But it's greasy," Summer frowned. Scott glared at the yellow Ranger before he grabbed her fork and knife and dumped them in Flynn soft drink.

"And now those are sticky," he was proud of himself.

Summer puffed her cheeks as she looked at her leader, but finally grabbed the pizza with her hands and started eating it.

Flynn glared at his drink, and then up at Scott, "You're paying for that."

"If you guys put as much effort into training as you did annoying each other, you would be the most amazing Ranger team on the face of the planet, do you realise that?" Tori sighed as she watched her Rangers once again drive each other crazy. She knew they loved each other and that one day they would grow up, but this was getting ridiculous.

"You try living with boys," Summer frowned. "They smell, they hog the TV, all they want to do is work on their cars, and I don't remember the last time I actually saw our bathroom sink! It's coated in… I really wish I could say grime, but that would be wishful thinking."

"That _grime_," Flynn said as he fished his fingers into his glass to pull out the cutlery, "is all your make-up powder, gloss and sprays. And don't even get me started on the uneven distribution of stuff in the bathroom. Why is it Scott and I need to share one half of the counter, while little-miss-sunshine over there gets a half to herself?"

"I have more stuff than you," Summer said.

"So?" Scott asked. "Do you really need all that make up, hair product, skin product, and those tools?"

Both Summer and Tori shot him a look, "Yes."

"What if I said your natural beauty shines?" Scott tried.

"I would laugh and say 'thanks for trying'," Summer smirked. She crossed her arms and leaned against the table as she fixed her gaze on Scott. Flynn was just happy he got the fork out of his drink.

"Yes!" he cried out loud.

Tori needed to resolve this matter fast. Dustin, Shane, Cam and Blake had just walked into the restaurant and she wanted to be able to have a good time with them, and not babysit the triplets.

"Look, Summer can share my bathroom if she wants," Tori offered. "Does that sound fair?"

"Yes," the three chirped happily. Tori glared at them suspiciously for a moment before her attention was grabbed by Blake.

-Fight-Flight-

"Three extra large Jungle Feline Frenzies!" Fran called out to the kitchen staff quickly before turning around and bumping into Lily. She excused herself, but took this quick moment to make sure her friend was okay.

"I'm fine," Lily assured her friend as she carried a glass in her hand, "This guy wanted diet and apparently can't afford the half calorie that one sip is going to give him. He needs a refill."

Fran looked over at the table where the man was waiting impatiently for Lily to hand him back his drink. The restaurant was packed, just as RJ expected, and the waitresses had a lot on their plates already. While it wasn't much to ask to get the drinks properly, this guy looked like he was oblivious to the rest of the people in the store. Lily dumped his drink and filled it up again with diet soda and hurried back to his table.

Fran continued to watch her as she rang up her most recent order. She could barely hear what the man was saying to Lily over the noise of screaming kids and chattering parents, but she could tell this man was giving Lily a hard time. Strategically, Fran decided to take the order of the table next to Lily, in case the cheetah needed help.

"Finally," she heard the man huff. "Now, what about my order of wings?" Fran couldn't help but chuckle when she heard that. If Lily weren't having a bad day, she would bring up the memory of Pocupongo Is that on the way or will I have to complain about the terrible service I'm receiving?"

"You just placed the order five minutes ago," Lily frowned. She held up a menu, "And it says the wait on wings will be twenty minutes."

"You have ten minutes, or I'm not paying," the man demanded. Lily grumbled as she turned around to deal with a more pleasant table, but over the sound of children and chatter, she heard the familiar noise of metal hitting the floor. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she focused on pushing the memories back.

A voice grabbed her before she was done, "Excuse me!" the man called out. "I dropped my stuff. Isn't there someone who will pick it up and bring me a new set? Clean, preferably. Not like that other…"

"I'm coming!" Lily groaned. She walked back to the table and knelt down to pick up the cutlery that had fallen.

"It's about time," the man huffed. "Make sure you really clean those up when you take them to the back, _miss_. I'm sure the other customers won't tolerate such sloppy service."

Lily looked up at the man. Her mistake. Now that she was on the ground, she felt so much smaller and he was a big man. Feelings of vulnerability began to surface. Not only was this man aggressive, but he held the power. He was the customer and his demands had to be met.

Thankfully, Fran swooped in. She was completely appalled by his behaviour.

"Excuse me, sir, but we do offer take out," she said to the man as she grabbed his glass of diet soda and handed it to him. "So please, take your stuff, and get out."

"You can't do that," the man frowned. "I'm still waiting on wings. I'm paying good money."

"We don't want your money, here," Fran stated in a calm voice. "We hold a high respect for customers, but we expect them to hold a high respect for our staff. You drinks and the glass are on us today and we won't charge you for the wings that you orders if you will just get up and get out."

"This is ridiculous," the man cried out. He slammed his drink on the table and stormed off. Fran turned to Lily and helped her up off the floor.

"Sometimes it pays to run the place solo," she chuckled. "You learn to deal with people like that."

"Thanks, Fran," Lily said.

"No problem. How about we do things a little differently? You seat people and take their orders, and I'll run them and take their money. That way if there's a problem, they won't take it out on you."

"Sounds good," Lily nodded. Fran pointed to the door, where Hunter, Kelly, Alex and Libby were standing and waiting for a table.

"Party of four joining the other Rangers," she smiled.

"I think I can take care of the Rangers on my own," Lily offered. "They'll understand."

"That's the spirit," Fran laughed. She gave her friend a pat on the back before rushing back to the kitchen to grab the orders that were coming from the ovens. Her problem for the day was going to be balancing the trays of pizzas, pastas and wings and getting them to the table without spilling anything.

Lily's challenge was going to be finding a spot to put Kelly that was comfortable, but not in the way of the roaming waitresses.

"Just roll her in a corner," Hunter chuckled as he wheeled Kelly along behind Lily. "It's what I do when I don't know where to put her.

Kelly glared up at her boyfriend before pulling the brakes on her one wheel, effectively stopping that side of the chair. Hunter wasn't expecting this and crashed into the back of the chair, hitting a very sensitive spot. He nearly doubled over in pain as he coughed.

"Or not…"

"I'll figure it out," Lily smiled, "Just as long as you guys promise not to order any diet sodas or wings."


	60. Almost Robbed

Libby limped into Storm Chargers while Alex followed her, still shaking his wrist after hurting it during training. It had been a few weeks since he started his ninja lessons under Dustin, and he was finally learning the ways of the Ninja. Unfortunately, he was still only just a beginner, and so far the training tools were far more skilled than he was.

Still, he had mastered many of the stances, and that alone was enough to fend of Jim and Hank for the time being. Soon, though, they would realise his stances were simple bluffs and they would challenge him to a real fight. Hopefully by then Alex would learn a few moves and would be able to defend himself.

Libby was also following a difficult training routine and hurt her ankle during the lesson. Dom assured her it was nothing bad and it would heal up on its own with a little ice and rest, but she had never felt pain like this before.

"Mom?" she whimpered when she walked through the door and Kelly quickly looked up. Over the few weeks, Kelly had grown used to being called mom by Libby. It was still weird, but in a special way, and the word itself created a stronger bond between Libby and Kelly.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Kelly frowned as she watched her daughter and Alex make their way to the couches. She was still immobilized and in the chair, so she couldn't move herself. Thankfully, Alex' legs were in suitable condition and he walked to the mini-fridge in the backroom and grabbed an icepack for himself and Libby.

"Training sucks," he muttered as he placed the icepack on Libby's ankle before pressing the other to his wrist.

"It's kind of a contact sport," Kelly chuckled. "Did you think there wouldn't be any pain?"

"I don't want to do this anymore," Libby crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. "It hurts too much and Master Dom doesn't listen to me. He just tells me to keep doing what I'm doing. He's a fucker!"

Kelly's eyes widened and she immediately turned to Alex. He shrugged.

"What? I'm a sixteen year old boy. Words come out of my mouth before the filter has time to actually get started. It slipped out."

"It's not nice to talk about your teacher like that," Kelly told Libby while she glanced to the backroom. Hunter was supposed to be back from his trip to the bathroom. Without him, she truly was immobile.

"Alex called Sensei Dustin a fucker. Why can't I?" Libby asked.

"Because it's a rude word," Kelly stated simply. "If Master Dom heard you saying it, he would be very hurt."

"But he laughed when Alex said it to Sensei Dustin."

"Just… no," Kelly shook her head. She reached to the counter and grabbed her clipboard. On it she had written up a list of things that needed to be done before the store opened up. With a pen, she crossed off sorting the front cash.

"Where are your legs?" Alex finally asked when he noticed Hunter was in the room. He knew the older man loved playing around with Kelly and abandoning her for a few moments, but he would never leave her stranded anywhere for too long. But the young boy had yet to see his father figure anywhere in the store.

"My guess right now is constipation," Kelly sighed.

"Disturbing," Alex grumbled. He placed the icepack on his forehead and leaned back to relax after the intense training, and Kelly went back to work. Libby, curious about the pain in her leg, lifted the icepack and began poking her ankle.

"Ow… Ow… Ow…"

Suddenly, the door to the store swung right open and two men walked in. One was a big man in a suit. His hair was short and thin and his hairline was receding. The other was the complete opposite. He was small, almost frail looking with messy, curly hair. He appeared almost harmless, while the bigger man he was with seemed threatening.

"The store's closed," Kelly frowned.

"We're not here to shop," the bigger man said as he nudged his partner forward. "C'mon, you can do this one. Look at her, she can't even move."

"Uh, yeah, I got this," the smaller man nodded and he stepped forward.

Over on the couches, Libby leaned into Alex, "Who are they?"

Alex shrugged, "I don't know, but this can't be good."

Their whispering caught the attention of the bigger man and he turned to them. He called to his partner, "I'll keep these guys where they are. Check the store to see what you can find."

"But we're not open," Libby frowned. "You can't buy anything…"

"No one said anything about buying, sweetheart," the big man chuckled. "Ziggy, have you found anything yet?"

"Uh… working on it…"

"Are you kidding me?" the big man groaned. "We chose this place for a reason. If you're going to be a part of our crew, you're going to have to learn how to deal with people."

The little man, Ziggy, walked over to the front counter and kept his eye on Kelly. It wasn't because he saw her as a threat. Even Kelly knew she was completely defenceless in this position. But Ziggy had a feeling he had seen her somewhere before.

And he was struggling to steal from an injured woman in a wheelchair, especially with two kids in the room. They weren't much younger than he was, but they were still kids.

"Are you stealing?" Libby asked the big man. Alex grabbed her arm and whispered for her to stay quiet. He knew it was safest to simply let the criminal grab what they wanted and leave. He knew now wasn't the time to practice his new moves, especially when there was the possibility that the big man could sit on him.

The big man chuckled, "We're trying to… if Ziggy could hurry it up! Check the register, it can't be completely empty."

"How do you work these things?" Ziggy frowned as he tapped the machine. "There's got to be a switch or a button or…"

"Get the lady to help you," the big man groaned.

Ziggy turned to Kelly, but she shook her head. He looked back at his partner.

"Um, she won't do it."

"Stealing is bad!" Libby frowned. "You're bad people if you steal! It's wrong."

"Libby, just hush up and let them do what they want," Alex told his sister. Libby shook her head.

"But they're bad people!" Libby shouted. She jumped out of her seat. "You're mean people!"

"Libby!" Alex grabbed her arm and tried to pull her back down while apologizing to the bigger man. "Sit down!"

"Listen to your brother," the big man ordered. "Sit down and shut up."

"You shut up!" Libby countered before Alex placed his hand over her mouth and yanked her back down onto the couch.

The big man watched the two teens for a moment before trusting they were too scared to do anything. He turned his back to them and walked over to Kelly and Ziggy.

"Get her to open the register," he ordered. Ziggy looked to Kelly again and suddenly it all fell into place. He remembered where he had seen her before. He had broken into her apartment with Benny in his first week with the cartels. It was part of his "training", as was this. He had been assigned easy jobs at first, such as stealing from empty homes and stores, and was moving his way up to stealing from people. He recognised Kelly from the pictures on her laptop and the few picture of her that had been in picture frames in her home.

"You're the…"

"Get her to open the register," his partner barked. Ziggy looked at Kelly once more and his partner lost his patience. He grabbed the handlebars of Kelly's chair and proceeded to tip it. Alex and Libby were in shock as they watched; knowing Kelly couldn't take the fall, even with her casts protecting her. Alex loosened his grip on his sister and it was enough for Libby to stand up and shout.

"MOM!"

From her chest, her animal spirit emerged for a second time, at first in its original form as a big pink blob, but as it approached the big man and Kelly, the blob spread out its wings and revealed itself as a butterfly. The butterfly rushed its target and bowled him over.

Sadly, it was a moment too late and the big man already tipped the chair just far enough for Kelly to fall out. Ziggy was quick to catch her, though, and lower her to the ground safely. He felt bad enough after having robbed her once. He wasn't going to let her injure herself further and deal with the stress of being robbed a second time.

"We didn't see anything, I swear," he whispered to Kelly as he set her down, before he rushed over to his partner and picked him up. The big man growled.

"What the hell…?"

"Benny, what happened?" Ziggy asked. "You were standing one minute and the next you just…"

"There was a pink butterfly…" Benny frowned. "A big… did you see it?"

"Fresno Bob's got you working too hard," Ziggy said. He looked around the store, "C'mon, can't we just find somewhere else? This place hasn't been open for business. Even if it is easy to steal from, there's nothing to take… unless you want to practice surfing or riding a bike…"

"But there was…"

"C'mon," Ziggy pushed the bigger man towards the door, "I'll try harder next time, I promise. Just don't make me steal from the woman with two kids and three casts."

"You better do better," Benny growled while shoving Ziggy away and walking the rest of the way to the door, "If not, you can kiss your career in the cartel's goodbye. Fresno Bob can only put up with so many failures."

"I know, I know," Ziggy nodded as he and his partner left the store.

With the thugs gone, Libby and Alex both raced over to Kelly and ignored their own pains long enough to get her back into the chair.

Before anyone could ask questions, Hunter finally returned to the front of the store. Angry, Alex stomped over.

"Where the hell were you?" he yelled.

Hunter furrowed his brows, confused by the rage in the teenager's voice. He pointed over his shoulder, "Kelly was just fixing stuff up at the register so I checked out the neighbouring stores and asked them a few questions about the location and the average number of customers a day…"

"Meanwhile, we're in here being robbed by big and bad, and scared and wimpy…"

"Robbed?" Hunter frowned. He immediately turned to Kelly, "Are you okay? What happened? Where are they? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Kelly assured him. "They didn't take anything…"

"They dumped her!" Alex yelled.

"They what?" Hunter asked and he turned to Kelly again, "Are you…"

"Fine," Kelly interrupted him. "The little guy caught me before I hit the ground. Nothing's broken… well, nothing new."

"Are you sure?" Hunter asked as he rushed over to her and started checking her over. Kelly shot him a look.

"Hunter, I'm serious. Libby got to the big guy before he could do anything."

"Libby?"

"I made a butterfly," Libby smiled and held a hand over her chest. "My pink blob turned into a butterfly. Did you see it, Alex? Did you? It saved mom! I saved her!"

"You…"

"Yeah, Libby saved her," Alex interrupted Hunter as he glared at the older man. "You're supposed to do that! You were supposed to be here!"

Hunter's look softened when he saw the fear in his teenager's eyes. He reached his arm out.

"Alex…"

"Don't… you're lucky that one guy was wimpy…"

"It's okay," Hunter whispered and he pulled the boy in for a comforting hug. "Nothing happened, okay. You're all safe."

"I stopped the bad guys," Libby smiled and clapped her hands together. "I stopped them with my butterfly!"

With her good hand, Kelly scratched her head. While she didn't want to question why things turned out for the best, she couldn't help but wonder what caused the smaller man to hesitate and save her, when he could have easily just grabbed something or let her fall. It wasn't like it would have been his fault if she had hurt herself, and he had come in here with the intention of stealing something. But the look he gave her made her wonder.

"A butterfly, huh?" Hunter smiled to Libby as he pulled her in for a hug as well. "You did great."

Alex pulled away from the hug, not out of hate, but because he was a boy, and there was only so much man-love he could take before it got awkward. He was still mad at Hunter for not being around, but the fear was starting to wear off.

With the hug over, Hunter let go of Libby and he knelt down before Kelly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her. "And I don't mean physically. This isn't the first time this happened…"

"I know," Kelly nodded. "I'm fine, really. The little guy was covering me; there was nothing to worry about… I'm just…"

Kelly quickly glanced over at the door and sighed. It was unlikely she would ever see those two men again. All she had was a name, but there wasn't much she could do with a name, especially when she wasn't even sure was real. Benny would be rather common, and Ziggy sounded too weird to be his real name. She would talk to the cops about this incident, but it was unlikely her questions would ever be answered.

She shook her head, "Never mind. I'm fine, Hunter, really. So, is this area good for business?"

"Fran did her homework," Hunter nodded while he took her hand comfortingly. "Once you get better and open up, everything will work itself out."


	61. The Civilians Return

Tori pressed the phone against her ear as she rolled over to her laptop and opened up the lid.

"What do you mean, almost robbed?"

She nodded her head as Hunter relayed the details of the almost robbery. She knew that she was just acting as the middle man in this case, and Hunter would either need to speak with the military directly, or she would, but she did figure this information would be important for her records. The role of a Ranger was to keep the peace on Earth. She never heard any mentor or former Ranger specify that they were only supposed to keep the peace by fighting monsters. Crime was definitely something Tori wanted to fight against as well.

"Okay, do you want me to tell the Colonel to up the security in that sector for a little while in case they come back or are you going to do that yourself?"

The former Blue Ranger played around on her computer as she listened to Hunter ramble on aimlessly without ever answering her question. He was obviously very angered by the near-robbery and the bigger man's careless behaviour towards his wheelchair-bound girlfriend. As she fiddled through some files and mindlessly checked the city scans, she picked up on energy signatures just outside the city. She leaned in closer and worked on getting a better image while Hunter's voice rang in the background. The phone was now more of an accessory than a communication device. She couldn't hear as Hunter began calling her name on the other end, wondering if she was still there, or if she had left the phone on a nearby table. He had the right to worry. While he and Tori were in a relationship, Tori had done that several times when he rambled on too much about motocross and his best lap times. There was only so much dirt a girl could take.

Finally, his voice reached her ears and Tori pulled her eyes away from the screen.

"What? Sorry Hunter, I've got to go. Either there is a Venjix army approaching the city, or the entire population of missing citizens is coming back!"

"What?"

"Bye!"

Tori hung up the phone and pounded her fist on the lab door to alert Dr. K. She could only assume he hadn't made this discovery yet. When the screens with his initial lit up, Tori began racing around the Garage and collected the Rangers from their various locations: couch, kitchen and underneath the truck.

"What's going on?" Scott asked as she finished his banana and tossed it in the nearby bin.

Tori plugged her laptop into Dr. K's computer before showing the Rangers her discovery.

"There's an army headed towards Corinth," she said. "Whether it's good or bad, we need to get out there and fast."

"Good or bad?" Flynn frowned. "I don't know how things work here in America, but back home, when there's an unknown army headed for you, there is no good."

"It's been a while since the civilians were captured," Tori reminded her successor. "It's possible they've found a way out…"

"Or they've been let out," Summer said grimly. "This could be a trap."

"Like I said, good or bad," Tori nodded. "Grab your things; we need to be out there before they reach the perimeter."

"I'll alert the Colonel," Dr. K announced. "He'll get his own army for backup in case you run into trouble."

"Let's go, guys!" Scott ordered as he led his team out. Tori followed, until she heard Dr. K calling her name. She turned around.

"Let's see how the Rangers do on their own," the doctor suggested. Tori watched as the Rangers fled the Garage in a hurry, excited and desperate to perform their Ranger duties. She nodded her head and wiped a mock-tear from her eye.

"They grow up so fast, don't they, doc?"

The doctor sighed as the computer screens faded back to black, and Tori could almost picture Dr. K rolling his eyes and turning away from her. She pouted.

"We'll get used to the empty nest, I promise! And they'll be back for holidays! Not to mention the fridge!"

-Fight-Flight-

"I don't know what I ever saw in her," Hunter grumbled as he put the phone down.

"Aw, did you ex get tired of you? Doesn't it suck when that happens?" Kelly chuckled.

"Apparently a Venjix army or something approaching the city is more important that a near-robbery," Hunter grumbled. "Stupid evil guys always have to ruin the normal life dream…"

"You know you're dating a Power Ranger when…" Kelly frowned. She handed the clipboard to Hunter, "I'm done crossing stuff off and I'm tired of the shitty writing. Can you please add a few more things to my list?"

"I should go give Tori a piece of my mind," Hunter grabbed his jacket and walked right by his girlfriend. She glared at where he used to be standing and spun her chair around so she could face him again.

"Yes, brilliant idea. Maybe, after that, you can help me write a few things down, and then, while you're up, you can figure out what this whole Venjix thing is about? You know, seeing as you have your priorities all figured out and whatnot."

"What?" Hunter asked as he turned back to face her and noticed her outstretched hand holding the clipboard.

"I said: I'm tired of shitty writing and would like for you to help me. But you obviously have more important things to take care of, such as yelling at a busy ex girlfriend, so I'll just see if Alex or…"

"Sorry, babe," Hunter chuckled as he took the clipboard from his girlfriend. "What do you want me to write?"

"Things left for me to do," Kelly said and Hunter quickly jotted that down. Kelly smirked, "One: figure out what the hell is invading the planet and see if there is anything I can do to help."

"Figure out…" Hunter mumbled as he took note. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

"You can't do that!"

Kelly really wished a face palm didn't hold the possibility of breaking her nose.

"You're in a chair! You could be killed by a stray rock or some… Oh… I get it."

Kelly nodded her head and Hunter leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Okay, I'll go make sure the earth is safe… are you going to be okay here? You know, with the robbery and…"

"Libby's proud of herself right now," Kelly said. "She thinks she's a superhero. I'll be fine."

"Okay. I love you."

-Fight-Flight-

"I'm convinced. She wants us to die."

"I doubt she wants us to die, Flynn," Summer rolled her eyes. She and the blue Ranger were trailing slightly behind Scott as the three searched the wastelands on foot for signs of life – human or robotic. "Maybe she just trusts that we're ready to handle things on our own."

Flynn looked at his Yellow Ranger and the two burst out laughing. Scott looked over his shoulder.

"Be serious, team," he said. "We're searching for a possible threat, not undermining our skills."

"We're just having a little fun," Flynn shrugged and Summer nodded in agreement. The Blue Ranger cracked his knuckles, "Anyways, whether she left us out here to die or not, I'm confident I'll be able to kick some Grinder butt!"

"There's a possibility these guys aren't Grinders," Summer reminded the scot. "This could be the missing people coming back. For better or…"

Scott held his arm up in front of Summer and Flynn and with his other hand he pointed to the horizon. There, he and the other two could vaguely make out the beings of which the approaching army was composed of. The one thing they could tell for sure, though, was that these things weren't standing completely upright. They seemed to be struggling to make it across.

Scott jumped down from the sandbank and bolted his way across the wastelands, hoping to reach the group before they all collapsed. Flynn and Summer were right behind him as they both slid down and ran after him.

The closer they got, the better they could see the group, and soon they realised that this was the kidnapped citizens returning to the city. The trio scanned the people as they got closer and were quick to recognise a familiar face.

"Hicks!" Scott called.

While Scott and Summer tended to Hicks and the other civilians, Flynn pulled out his morpher.

"Tori, Doc, we've found the missing people. They're all hurt and there are too many of them to take back in my truck or Scott's car."

"Are there any signs of Venjix or Grinders?" Tori asked.

"Nothing," Flynn shook his head. "It's just the people. We can probably ask questions once we get them all back."

"Good thinking, Ranger Blue," Dr. K said. "Ranger Yellow, do you hear me?"

Summer pulled out her morpher, "Yeah."

"It's come to my attention that men become highly irritable when women drive their cars," Dr. K started and Flynn and Scott were nodding their heads. They trusted their Yellow Ranger with their lives, but not their cars "Therefore, Rangers Red and Blue will bring their own vehicles back to the city."

"And you're telling me this because…"

"I'm sending you the Bear Crawler Zord. You'll load the citizens into your Zord and you will drive them back into the city. Once inside, you'll wait for further instructions."

Scott pulled out his morpher, "Whoa, doc… Summer gets a Zord and we don't?"

"The Bear Crawler was designed to be light and agile, making it next to perfect to pilot through the rough conditions of the wastelands. If you wish to pilot the Bear Zord, Ranger Red, then Ranger Yellow will have to drive your car back to base."

"I… proceed," Scott grumbled.

"It's about time," Summer smirked. She had been waiting since day one for her Ranger powers to give her some advantage over the boys. So far, Scott held the title of leader and got to make all the important and life changing decisions involving the Ranger team, and Flynn got a really cool blaster than probably weighed more than she did. It was time something special came her way.

"Sending out the Bear Crawler Zord," Tori announced.

"How will I recognise it?" Summer asked.

"It's, uh, a giant yellow bear…"

Scott and Flynn both looked at Summer. She shrugged her shoulders.

"What? It could have just been called Bear because that's the animal on my number," Summer pointed to her chest where her bear symbol and the number three were printed. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Are you sure you don't trust her to drive you car back, Scott?" Flynn chuckled.


	62. Previous Generations

Tori turned around and jumped out of her skin, surprised to see Hunter standing behind her, looking worried and eager at the same time. She placed her hand over her chest as she glared at her ex.

"Why is it, even though we've both moved on, I still see you every time I turn around?" she asked him.

Hunter shrugged, "You still have the hots for me?"

"Yeah, sure," Tori chuckled jokingly. She grabbed her clipboard and walked to the couch. Once Summer and the boys were back inside the city, Dr. K was going to give out their orders to take the civilians to the prison for an interrogation. It wasn't ideal, but the Colonel and Dr. K agreed that only a few select people would be chosen to actually leave Summer's Bear Crawler for the interrogation. Hicks, of course, would be one of the few chosen, and it had already been decided that there needed to be at least a senior, a youngster, a parent, an independent and a teenager so that the population of people inside the Zord could be represented properly. If the stories matched up with only a few discrepancies (perspective, different paths taken, different treatment by the Venjix were all factors for inconsistencies), then the people would be free to return to a normal life. Hopefully things would be that easy.

"You said there was a Venjix thing," Hunter said as he followed Tori to the couch. "Do you need any help? Kelly thinks that as a former Ranger…"

"Everything's under control," Tori assured him. "It was the missing civilians, you know, the ones who were kidnapped at the same time as Kelly. For some reason, they all got out. It could be good news, it could be bad news. Who knows what Venjix wanted with him?"

"So, there is no invasion?"

"Your answer is under investigation," Tori told him. "We'll still need to get the stories from the survivors. Their answers, you know, before we can judge whether it's safe to let them back in or not. I hope they pass; it sucks being a prisoner inside a domed city…"

"I'm good to go, then?" Hunter pointed over his shoulder with his thumb directed to the door. Tori nodded her head.

"You are. I don't see why you thought you needed to show up, but…"

"You're the one who told us guys: once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

"I guess," Tori nodded.

"And if there's anything we Rangers can do to help, we do have a responsibility to show up," Hunter stated. Tori looked up at him briefly with a strange look on her face. She shook her head, hoping to shake the thought as well, but Hunter knew her facial expressions well. He had almost married her, for crying out loud. He knew her better than anyone (which was sad to say, really).

"What?" he asked her.

Tori looked at him once more and shook her head, "Nothing."

"That wasn't nothing," Hunter frowned. "That was the 'hold on a minute' look. Something occurred to you, and I doubt it's got anything to do with video games or the dinner menu."

"Leftover pizza," Tori responded, almost automatically. "But… you're right… there is something…"

"What's that?"

Tori tapped the cushion beside her on the couch and invited Hunter to take that spot. He sat down next to her without hesitation. Something was bothering her.

"You know how the entire world is dead?" she asked him. "Our friends, families… everyone from our past just… gone."

"Yeah," Hunter nodded. The thought had occurred to him many times. While he claimed Blake was the only family he ever had, excluding his new Ranger family and his even newer dysfunctional family, he did have past relationships to people he still cared for today: Sensei Omino, Leanne, a few racing buddies he had met over the years, his "little brother" Charlie and his mother. But they were all gone, and he knew he had to accept that fact. He hadn't seen any sign of any of them since he arrived to the city and while Corinth was rather big, it was still only one city.

"Well… it's the end of the world," Tori stated, though the fact was very-well known. She looked up at Hunter, "This is the time where we need heroes… where people with the power to help need to stand up and fight to protect this earth and the people living on it… and yet… there's only a handful of us actually doing something."

"Yeah, the Rangers," Hunter nodded. "We're all involved, one way or another. I'm here today, when there was a possible invasion. RJ and Lily were out there in the wastes when we reprogrammed the shields. If there's something to protect, we're stepping up…"

"But there are more Rangers than that," Tori said. "The Dino Rangers, remember them? Conner, Kira, Ethan… we fought alongside them."

"_We _fought alongside them," Hunter corrected. "You fought against them most of the time."

"Whatever," Tori scoffed. "Those guys… I know Kira most of all, but none of them seemed like the kind of people who would just… sit back and watch the world blow up. You would think they would stand out more… they would do something!"

"Maybe… behind the scenes…"

"And Adam!" Tori continued. "Adam and all the Rangers he's ever worked with. Everyone before him, after him… where are they? They're supposed to be the greats! What about the originals? The guys who started this? Where are they? Aren't they like… super protectors or something? What about Tommy? He wouldn't hide in the shadows! He would be here stealing the limelight, probably in a different coloured suit, for all we know. It's about time he tried the blue one…"

"You know a lot about ranger history."

"I spent a lot of time with Kira and Adam back in '07," Tori nodded. "I'm just asking… where are they?"

"I don't know," Hunter shrugged.

"Bridge is in the future… he's not even seven at this point… but Xander and the Overdrives… where are they?"

"I don't know, Tori," Hunter shrugged again. He wished he had a better answer for her. He knew where she was taking this.

"We're the only ones left," she said with worry. "You, me… the guys… the kittens… we're it."

"Tor…"

"They're dead… aren't they?" Tori asked. She knew the answer already, and she knew the answer would be in reach if she wanted the reality. Everyone inside Corinth was registered, and she had access to the civilian and military names. She could look them up easily.

But she knew she didn't have to. Project Ranger was public, and it surely would have brought out any former Rangers still crawling around out there. Tommy especially, who according to Kira and Adam's description was a total Ranger nut. He had a video diary of all the Ranger teams and he even had footage of the ninjas prior to ever meeting them (something that still crept Tori out to this very day). Surely he would have wanted to met and be a part of the new Rangers if he was still alive. Surely the other Rangers would find comfort in their own kind. Tori did. Not only because she was their mentor, but because she was happy to see the power being passed down to the next generation. Had she not have been recruited for this job, she would have gone looking for the Rangers and looking for anyway to help. It was the Ranger code. It was the Ranger instinct.

Tears formed quickly in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks when she realised she lost more members of her family than she ever knew she had. All those who held the power before her were gone, and the young kids who held the power after her were gone as well. Adam, Kira, Xander, Mack and every other team with the exception of those in the future, they were gone. Never to be seen again.

Hunter wrapped his arms around her reassuringly as the pain settled inside him as well. He hadn't gotten the chance to get to know his Ranger family like Tori, but they were a part of him. They were his friends, his teammates… no, they were more than that. They were his brothers and sisters.

"It won't be in vain," he whispered into Tori's ear. "All those years they fought… all those years we fought… it's not going to waste. We will win. We will find peace."

There was a brief silence where the two former Rangers held each other comfortingly.

Over the intercom, Dr. K broke the silence and the moment. He had never been one to bother giving people time and space.

"The Rangers have made it back. I'm sending them to the prison for the interrogations."

Tori pulled away from Hunter and stood back up, "Okay, Dr.K. You're in charge anyways."

"You have a job to do, Miss Hanson."

"I know… I know."

Hunter looked up, still unsure of where the doctor's voice was coming from.

"She's hurting, doc," he told her. "Everyone from our past is gone. Our family is… dead."

"I'm sorry, did you want a moment?" the doctor asked and Hunter nodded.

"Yes, we need a little time to get over it."

"I can arrange for the lover to visit if it would help," Dr. K suggested, "though I do feel the need to once again voice my disdain for '_nights-in'_."

"Huh?" Hunter turned to Tori for this one. She wiped the tears from her eyes and forced a laugh.

"He's talking about Blake," she said. "And how he hates it when Blake and I…"

"Stop right there," Hunter held up his hand. This was his ex and baby brother. Even a little detail was a lot. "You can invite Blake over… whatever… but I don't think you'll need to worry about _'nights in'._"

"I worry constantly," the doctor sighed. "Your brother is here more often than you would think."

"How often is more often?" Hunter frowned. "Because let's be honest, I don't think about my baby brother and my ex-future-wife in bed together… so once would be more often."

"Don't I have work to do?" Tori said nervously as she piled her things together. After this little talk, she needed to work alone. Without her boyfriend's older brother and her boss watching her.

She scurried off to her bedroom for her privacy, but just as she reached the door she heard Hunter call out to her.

"Once the Rangers are done with the missing people and stuff… maybe we'll get all the former Rangers together and we can hold a memorial… public or private… just… something to say goodbye?" he suggested. Tori pressed her papers to her chest in an effort to sooth the pain and grief which were flooding back to the surface. She nodded her head gently and forced a smile.

"They deserve it."

"You knew the most Rangers," Hunter added. "Maybe you can shed a little light for the rest of us… if you want to. I know you and your random gathering of old Rangers were pretty close… and you were close with the Overdrives too…"

"Yeah," Tori nodded. "You don't spend a summer stuck in a mansion, even a big one, without bonding with everyone inside."

"If you want to say something, I think I'll be great. If it's too much…"

"It won't be," Tori said. "I'll just get my work done before Blake comes over."

"I'll go back to Kelly," Hunter said. He offered his ex a smile before he turned to leave.


	63. Remembering

With her hands in her lap, Tori sat in silence. The only sound in the Garage was the sound of thoughts, prayers and memories rushing through the minds of those who knew about or remembered all the former Rangers who didn't make it to Corinth city. Tears threatened to spill down her face as Tori remember all the people she had met and loved during her time as a Ranger. Unlike the other Rangers in the room, she had met quite a handful of former Rangers and had developed a special bond with each and every one of them that she wouldn't soon forget. It would be impossible to replace any of them; not that that was something Tori planned on doing.

It had also occurred to her that in the likely event that all former Rangers were dead, Tori was now the Ranger with the most experience. She had been a Ninja Ranger, fought alongside the Dino Rangers for a brief period of time, and was then chosen by the Great Sentinel Knight to be a part of one a reunion of Rangers in order to defend the earth while the current Rangers were out of business. When she shared her thoughts with Dr. K, the doctor exhaled a sigh of relief and was appreciative of the fact that he had hired the best in the business to be his Ranger mentor. Tori had her suspicions before about the doctor's strange social skills, but she was really starting to believe there was a problem in that one area. The doctor was a wiz in everything except reading other people's behaviours, expressions, feelings and tone of voice. It made it hard to get him to agree to host the Ranger memorial in the Garage, but Tori had succeeded.

Blake had been holding her hand comfortingly during the entire memorial. Not many words were spoken as there wasn't much to say. Simple goodbyes were whispered by the Rangers who knew others who had died and some stories were shared with the newer Rangers as well as Alex, Libby, Fran and Kelly.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to her, finally breaking the silence in the room. Tori turned to him and nodded her head, but she pulled in closer. She needed to feel him and be with him in his arms. Blake wrapped his arms around her and held her closely.

"You know what would have been really cool?" Dustin asked now that the silence had already been broken. He looked at his friends, "If Dr. Oliver did actually get around to showing us that video diary of all the teams. You guys remembered he promised us when we all met up for Kira's concert."

"I can't believe she was a Power Ranger," Summer breathed. "I used to listen to her all the time when my parents were in France, Spain, Germany and all those other countries… pretending like they didn't have a daughter…"

"Why didn't you listen to her music when they were around?" Scott asked.

Summer shrugged, "Well… they never really were and they didn't like that pop-garbage stuff. If someone didn't have as much money as us, they were dirt… basically."

"How much money do you have?" Shane asked before receiving an elbow in the ribs from Cam.

"None of it," Summer said. "It doesn't matter to me anymore. My parents can do what they want with the money. They always have anyways"

"Mr. Hartford was rich too," Tori whispered. "He paid for all the technology required to build the Ranger stuff… and let me tell you, there was a lot!"

"We heard about Mr. Hartford," Summer nodded. "My parents were just sad he didn't have a son my age."

"You must have known a lot of former Rangers," Scott said to Tori. Over the couple of months he had spent with his mentor, he had heard a few of her old stories from her time as a Ranger and understood that she had met several Rangers from several different teams. As a motivator, Tori often brought up stories of the RPM team's predecessors and the challenges they faced that were similar or worse than the challenges the current Rangers faced. There was always a story to tell and always something new and interesting to learn about the Rangers from the past.

Tori nodded her head, "Not as many as the Great Tommy Oliver," she said. "He would have been the first Ranger back in this Garage… the moment he heard about Project Ranger or saw you guys in uniform he would have tracked you down and taken over. It was kind of his thing."

"How he managed to smuggle teenagers into his basement several times a week without raising suspicion will always be creepy in my mind," Dustin frowned. "I don't know about the real teaching laws and stuff, but in the ninja world, that stuff is frowned upon."

"It's worse for real teachers," Shane nodded.

"It would have been nice for us to team up with some of the other Rangers," Theo pointed out with a tone of regret. "It's too bad we were so good at stopping Dai Shi that we never needed help from another team."

"I would have liked to meet some former Rangers," Lily sighed. She quickly looked up at the Ninjas, "Uh, you know, aside from you guys."

"We got it," Blake chuckled and nodded. "We feel the same way. We never received any help. The only reason we teamed up was because Lothor managed to turn these guys against us."

Blake playfully nudged his girlfriend while he turned and gave Dustin and Shane a look. Dustin stuck out his tongue and Shane shook his head and chuckled.

"We kicked ass when we were evil," he said. "Thankfully we weren't the first Rangers to accidentally fall on the dark side."

"It happens to the best of Rangers," Cam said. "I mean, you're not a Ranger if you've never met someone who at one point worked for the wrong team."

"Amen," Casey nodded. "Poor Jarrod never knew his attitude would come back and bite him in the ass. I'm going to miss him."

"I was the only person on my team who didn't turn to the dark side," Cam smirked proudly, "Intentionally or not."

"Does that mean it's going to happen to us?" Flynn asked with a hint of worry. "Are we going to… recruit from the bad-guys?"

"Well, your bad guys are all robots," Tori shrugged. "Unless you… I don't know, pick up a human-robot infiltrator and turn him or her back to good… I don't see that happening."

"Just say you know Hunter," Alex chuckled as he reached forward and grabbed a little sandwich from the tray of finger foods on the table. He hadn't had much to add to this conversation up until now, "His snoring is pretty evil in my books."

"Do you not remember Casey?" Theo frowned. "Some nights, I wish a train would just run right through the house so I can get a moment of peace."

"I do not…"

"I have evidence," Theo growled. "Five hours worth of you and that foghorn you have in your throat all on tape. I can mute the tap and we can still hear the snoring."

"We hear it from our place, dude," Shane teased as he looked at Casey. While the boys continued to tease Casey and his ridiculous snoring, Scott turned to Tori with questions about the Venjix, now that the subject had been brought up. He knew she received information from his father, and was curious about the wellbeing of the civilians.

"About the Venjix…"

"So far everything adds up," Tori whispered to him. "They're all pretty much telling the Colonel the same story Kelly's been telling us: drugs, Grinders, memory blanks, waking up clueless and weak and in pain. The only thing that has us worried is that these people are fully aware that Venjix let them go. Your father, Dr. K and I are going to keep an eye on them for suspicious activity, but they're back with their families."

"Good," Scott nodded.

"Man, I wish I was old enough to be a Power Ranger," Alex said wishfully as he leaned back in his seat. "It would have been so cool! I mean, even wearing the tights…"

"Not as fun as you might think," Shane chuckled as he tapped the boy on the shoulder.

Libby looked around the room, "So, Power Rangers are like superheroes?"

"We saved the world from monsters and bad guys," Hunter nodded and quickly explained the Ranger legacy to his daughter. A bright smiled appeared on Libby's face and she clapped her hands together.

"Can I be a Power Ranger? I want to be a Power Ranger! I saved mom from bad guys yesterday! Do you remember, mom? I was good at it!"

"You were," Kelly nodded, "But it takes a little more than that to be a Ranger."

"Are you kidding? I had no idea what I was doing when I…" Casey trailed off when he saw Hunter giving him a deadly look. He quickly changed his words, "I mean, yeah… years of training and discipline and all that _fun_ stuff."

"Oh…" Libby sunk back in her chair. "What's the point of having an animal spirit if you can't use it on people?"

"I still can't believe she unleashed it, and I didn't get to see it," Dominic pouted. Libby was his first ever student, and he had hoped he would be able to see her animal spirit when it first came out in full form. He had been disappointed he missed it and had to hear all about it from Hunter and Libby over the phone. Thankfully, the seventeen year old child was very descriptive and remembered every detail of the event.

"It was just a pink butterfly," Alex shrugged. "It won't be as cool as when I find my element. Earth, Water, Air, Thunder… I can't wait!"

"Patience is a virtue," Lily chuckled. "It took me months before I could even unleash a blob for an animal spirit. I've known Theo longer than my own animal."

"Same here," Tori nodded. "Only change animal spirit to element and Theo to Shane and Dustin. I was the last one of us three to discover my inner ninja."

"Late bloomers," Shane teased the girls.

"Miss Hanson," Dr. K called over the speakers. "There seems to be a woman at the door. Approximately in her mid-thirties. I do not recognise her and have asked her to leave several times, but she just does not seem to get the hint. I figure you and your _superior social skills_ may be able to convince her that this is top-secret ranger property and that trespassing is illegal and punishable."

"I'll get it," Tori grumbled. She uncurled herself from Blake's arms and got to her feet. As she walked to the door, she muttered a reminder to herself to never insult any of Dr. K's abilities, even if it was to point out her lack of one.

She walked to the door and quickly glanced through the peephole. The first thing that caught her eye was a mass of bright red hair. Tori didn't know too many redheads. In fact, the only one she really knew was sitting in this very room in a wheelchair, but she decided to open the door anyways. After all, there were very few people on this planet who possessed the power to take out three teams of Rangers.

Her jaw hit the ground when the door opened and she immediately recognised the face of the person on the other side. She had only met her a few times, but that was enough for memory to kick in. It was also amazing timing that this person was standing on her doorstep. In the absence of all other Rangers, this person was the next best thing.

"Hayley…"

"Finally," the red headed genius let out a sigh of relief. "You won't believe how long it took me to track you guys down."

She looked over Tori's shoulder and spotted the rest of the Ninja Storm team. "You guys all made it… and I see you have the Jungle Fury team with you."

"You know… way too much," Tori breathed as she allowed the former Dino Thunder technician and co-mentor inside the Garage.

Hayley reached into her jacket and pulled out a beat-up case. Thankfully the contents hadn't been touched.

"I guarded this with my life," Hayley said as she walked over to the computers. She looked at Tori, "Do you mind?"

"Anything that'll shut the doc up is okay with us," Tori nodded.

"When Venjix hit and took out the Rangers, I figured this would be the only thing that would keep the legacy alive," Hayley explained as she pulled a disk out of the case and placed it inside the computer. "It's a good thing Tommy's obsessed with the Ranger life. He's got everything on here."

"Is that what I think it is?" Dustin asked excitedly. He jumped up from his seat and grabbed handfuls of the snacks on the table before running over to the computer to look at the screen. He turned back to Shane and the others, "Dude, Ranger movie time!"

"Your timing is amazing," Cam told Hayley as he stood next to her, eager to watch the video as well. "We were all here paying our respects to the fallen Rangers."

"That's why I kept this video," Hayley nodded. "I knew it was unlikely many of the Rangers survive the Venjix. I thought it would help if ever I needed to create my own team of Rangers. It seems someone beat me to the punch."

"We can always use your help," Tori smiled. "Well… I could, at least. Dr. K's a little protective of his work. No one messes with any of his stuff."

"SHH!" Dustin hushed the women and everyone gathered around. "It's starting!"

"_I'm Tommy Oliver. If you're not me, than something is seriously wrong."_

"Who is Tommy Oliver?" Alex whispered but he was quickly shushed by the Rangers watching the video.

"That guy," Libby shrugged as she pointed to the screen.

"_This video diary is a confidential record; only to be viewed in the case of an emergency. What you're about to see is a history of my life and the lives of other people who dedicated their lives to serving as Power Rangers. The story begins in Angel Grove…"_


	64. Libby's Friends

Once the video diary was over, everyone slowly started to make their way to the exit. The video had been longer than expected, and all the former Rangers were starting to get tired. The day had been a long one, but at least they had found a way to honour the other Rangers and took the time to remember them. It wasn't going to be easy, knowing they were the only ones left, but it was going to be a little less difficult.

Dustin was the first of the ninja boys to have his shoes and jacket on and while he waited for his friends to get ready, he walked back over to the couch to say another goodbye to the RPM team. They reminded him a lot of himself, Shane and Tori when they first met, and he couldn't get enough of Flynn's accent.

But as he walked over, he noticed Summer was already asleep on the couch. It was always the girls that were the first to go. He tip-toed closer to the couch and saw Scott and Flynn had some sort of bet going on. There was money on the table and the two were going over the rules of the bet.

"I want in," Dustin said as he leaned on the back of the couch.

"You don't even know what the bet it," Scott frowned as he looked up.

"We're betting on whether Tori will be able to convince Dr. K to let Hayley help us," Flynn explained to the yellow Ranger. "I think Hayley will be part of the team. Scott thinks she'll get kicked out of the Garage."

"I'm in with Flynn," Dustin smirked as he pulled out some money. He looked at Scott, "You obviously don't know Tori, dude."

"You don't know Dr. K," Scott chuckled. "Yesterday, I suggested the doctor make an improvement with the laser blasters we've been training with, and I got a whole lecture on how Dr. K was the brains behind everything and how my puny and insignificant mind couldn't even begin to comprehend the technology behind a toaster, never mind the Ranger stuff."

"It was definitely an interesting hour," Flynn nodded his head. Dustin offered his blue friend a pat on the back as the others called him to leave.

"Be sure to give me my share of the money next time I'm here," he told Flynn, still confident Tori was going to pull through for the both of them.

Alex walked out of the bathroom as he heard Dustin saying this. He turned to the boys with a grin.

"Money? Are we betting on something…?"

"You're not betting on anything," Hunter frowned as he pulled the teenager away from the Rangers. "We need to get you and Libby home. You have school tomorrow and it's already late."

"I won't be tired, I swear! I'll be perfectly fine in the morning! Can I please…?"

"Home," Hunter stated firmly and he pulled the boy out of the garage while Libby followed with Kelly.

"Good bye, guys!" Libby waved to the RPM Rangers. "And don't be afraid to call me if you need any help fighting bad guys! I'm really good, I promise."

-Fight-Flight-

The sound of Libby's locker slamming shut caused Alex to jump out of his tired state and look around the hallways urgently.

"Lockdown?" he called out as he searched for a man with a weapon.

Libby turned to him and frowned, "I thought it was called a locker."

"It is," Koko nodded. "Alex is just a little tired," she waved her hand in front of his face, "Hello, is anybody in there? What did you do last night? Stay up playing video games?"

"We don't have video games," Alex muttered. "Hunter and Kelly won't buy me one until the end of the school year."

"We were at a party!" Libby smiled.

"A party? On a school night? Your parents are so cool!"

"It was more of a memorial," Alex explained. "Hunter and his friends knew a lot of really good people who died in the evacuations. We were just saying goodbye. But then, apparently, an old friend turned up with a video diary and it started off really cool… but it went on, and on, and on, and then there was a bet going and then…"

Alex' head dipped forward as he fell asleep. Libby wanted to wake him up, but Koko shook her head.

"This should be funny," she whispered.

As Alex fell asleep, his body began to slump and he fell sideways, right into the lockers which created a loud crashing sound that woke him up. He jumped up and looked around.

"I packed my lunch! I have no money!"

"Told you," Koko smiled as she and Libby shared a laugh. Alex glared at them until finally the bell for class rang. He grabbed his stuff from the floor and started walking with his two friends.

Halfway to class, Libby realised she forgot her favourite pen in her locker. It was her note taking pen, and she couldn't take notes without it. Plus, every time she pressed down on the paper with the pen, the butterfly on the top lit up. Hunter bought it for her after she unleashed her animal spirit.

"Oh no!" she called out before shoving her books in Alex' arms and darting back to her locker. "I'll be right back, guys! I need my pen!"

"Libs…" Alex groaned and shook his head.

"Should we follow her?" Koko asked. On the day she met Alex and Libby, she had believed the cover story Alex was using to explain Libby's behaviour and her strange questions. She believed Libby had suffered brain damage as a result of her time in the wastelands. Because of that, and her blooming friendship with the two _siblings_, Koko was becoming very protective of the blonde girl.

Alex shook his head, "She knows her way to class now. Besides, those mean girls usually don't come to school until halfway through first. She's got plenty of time."

"I guess you're right."

Alex smiled, "Anyways, Libby's never late for anything. She'll make it back to class no matter what. If we turn back now, we're looking at extra homework for the rest of the week!"

"Race you there," Koko smirked before taking off. Alex growled. Not only was running still a little strange to him, but now he was carrying his books as well as Libby's.

"Cheater!" he called.

-Fight-Flight-

Tori placed the three plates before her Rangers and turned to Hayley.

"All I can say is, it's going to be nice to have an extra pair of hands around here," she smiled.

"I can't help but feel like the doctor hates me though," Hayley frowned. Tori shrugged her shoulders.

"We all feel that way."

"Well, the doc might hate us, but I love these eggs," Flynn grinned as he shovelled his breakfast into his mouth. "You are one amazing cook, Tori."

"Don't feel flattered," Scott frowned as he stared at the stack of money sticking out of Flynn's pocket. "You know you have to give half of that to Dustin, right?"

"Aye," Flynn nodded, "But the best part of this bet is rubbing it in your face."

"You made a bet on whether Dr. K would like Hayley or not?" Summer frowned. "Isn't that a little mean?"

"It was more a bet on whether or not Dr. K would let Hayley join the team," Flynn explained. "I put my money on Tori's amazing skills of persuasion. Scott doubted you, Tor."

"You're lucky bet on me," Tori frowned. "Otherwise, I would take that money from you. Actually… fork over Dustin's half. I'll figure out how he cheated."

As Tori counted Dustin's half of the bet, Summer turned to Hayley.

"So, um, no offense… but what exactly can you do?"

Hayley chuckled, "I'll mostly be helping Tori and designing my own weapons and stuff for you guys. I was the brains behind the entire Dino Thunder team."

"That was sweet," Scott smirked. "Dinosaur Gems giving people powers. We need something like that."

"I don't know… that screaming power seemed kind of annoying," Flynn frowned.

"Put the guys in their place, though," Hayley smirked. "You three don't worry about my job. Just make sure you eat a big enough breakfast to last the day."

"Why does that make me like you a little less?" Summer spoke cautiously. She didn't know Hayley very well, but the look on her face seemed devious. Tori was also smiling.

"Let's just say," Tori smirked, "when coming up with new training routines, two heads are better than one. Last night, Hayley reminded me of the survival aspect of Rangering… and with such a big wasteland… this is obviously going to be a matter later on."

"Give me that food!" Flynn said as he swiped Summer's plate from under her fork.

"HEY! I was eating that!"

"Mine now," Flynn said. He shovelled her food into his mouth and turned his back to her so she couldn't steal her food back.

"FLYNN!"

Scott groaned, "This can't be a one-man team, can it?"

"Afraid not," Tori sighed.

-Fight-Flight-

Downstairs, Libby fished her butterfly pen from her locker and grinned like a child as she pressed it against her hand, making the top of the pen light up. She closed her locked and turned back towards the stairs that would lead her to her classroom. She had to stop suddenly, though, before she bumped into the football team. They were all standing there in front of her without their books or bags, just their team jackets and a football in their hands.

"You guys are going to be late to class," Libby told them as she looked up at the clock. If she hurried, she knew she could make it. But all her stuff was already on its way to the classroom thanks to Alex. The football team didn't have anything with them.

"There is no class," one of the players told Libby. "Didn't you hear about the assembly at the end of the day? All the teachers cancelled classes so they could get their speeches ready."

"What's an assembly?" Libby frowned and the football team all burst out in laughter, as if she had just told them a joke.

"That's a good one, girl," the player chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her. "You know, we've never noticed this before, but you're pretty cool."

"I am?"

The player nodded encouragingly, "Definitely. I don't know why all those girls are always so mean to you."

"Me neither," Libby sighed. "But my dad just says that girls are like that sometimes and that I need to ignore them. I'll make real friends one day!"

"I have an idea," the player said and he looked at his team, "How about we be your friends? We'll tell you all the secrets about this school and we'll tell those girls to stop picking on you."

"You will?" Libby asked. She looked at the players. She knew they were on the football team, like Hank and Jim, but they seemed much nicer than the two boys who made a habit out of bullying her brother. They actually wanted to help her.

"Yeah, of course," the player nodded. "Those girls aren't going to pick on you anymore. And anyways, I think the problem wasn't you. You've been hanging out with that new kid all the time. You were prey by association."

"What?" Libby frowned. "Are you talking about my brother?"

"Look, the first rule of high school is to stay away from the losers," the player told Libby. "They don't do anything to help you. All they do is suck up to teachers and take up space in the hallways. They don't do anything useful like play football or hockey or all that important stuff."

"Alex can't play sports," Libby said. "He had an accident and his leg is fake. He's still getting used to it."

"Doesn't matter," the player shook his head. "He's still a loser."

"But he's my brother."

"Look," the player sighed. He was getting frustrated with Libby. "It's okay that he's your brother. You don't choose your family. We get that, girl. But you can choose how to treat your family. I say you treat them the way they deserve to be treated."

"Um… okay… how does Alex deserve to be treated?"

"Losers deserve to be treated like losers," the player told her and the other boys nodded. "Just leave him behind. Don't talk to him, don't tell him all our secrets, and don't tell him what we're doing."

"What are we doing?"

"Hold up," the player smirked. "You have to be our friend to know what we're doing, and you can't be our friend if you're going to be the loser's friend. So, girl, what is it? Are you a friend, or are you a loser?"

Libby didn't have to think about it. She knew friends were good people. Friends were nice, and they would help her and they would treat her properly. Her parents wanted her to make friends.

"I'm your friend," Libby smiled. She bounced with excitement, "So, what are we doing?"

"Well, seeing as we have the day off class, we were thinking of throwing the football around," the player smirked as he grabbed the ball from his friend. "You can join us if you want."

"Okay!" Libby grinned. She took the ball from her new friend and examined it. It wasn't round like all the other balls Alex had showed her. It looked more like someone had taken a ball and stretched it out until it made a pointed oval. "What about after that? Is there class after that?"

"No class," the player shook his head. "We have other stuff planned after class."


	65. In the Forest

"You know what I find funny," Koko frowned as she picked at her food in the cafeteria at lunch time. She glanced up at Alex. He shook his head and sighed, still frustrated over the fact that he had no idea where Libby had gone. When she didn't show up for first period, he and Koko skipped second to go out looking for her. There had been no sign of her, and the only reason he wasn't still out there looking for her was because he was hungry and he thought maybe she would be as well. He had his eyes fixed on the door.

"Nothing's funny," he grumbled.

Koko shrugged, "I just think it's funny that Jim and Hank haven't said a word to you today," she stated casually. "And… well, I don't think it's because of me."

"What do you mean?" Alex as with interest and he finally turned to look at her. It was Koko's turn to shrug.

"Those guys wouldn't dare do anything to you while I'm around," she explained. "I got them to stop bullying you and kept them from taking Libby as a prize on the day we met, remember? But they wouldn't have stopped with the name calling and the taunts, that's a fact. They're jocks and airheads."

"So?" Alex frowned. "Maybe they're just having an off day."

"I just thought it was weird," Koko said. "If you want we could try to explain this to the principal and see if we can get him to look at the security tapes. Maybe we'll be able to tell if she's still in the building or not."

"What are we going to say?" Alex groaned.

"The same thing you told me. The principal's a little… hostile, but he wouldn't want anything to happen to his students, especially if it could mean a lawsuit. During school hours we're the school's responsibility. That's why are parents are supposed to sign in and sign out. If something were to happen to Libby, this school could get into trouble for not knowing where she was. Why do you think they take attendance before every class?"

"To get the skippers in trouble," Alex shrugged.

"I don't want to risk a detention for skipping another class. If we get the principal on our side then maybe we can find her faster."

"I'm just worried about her."

"We both are," Koko smiled and she touched Alex' hand. "But she may have just… seen something shiny and walked off."

"You make her sound like a baby."

"She behaves like one," Koko said gently, hoping it wouldn't upset Alex. "You know I mean nothing by it, but it is entirely possible that she's okay. In fact, I would bet on it."

"You can do what you want," Alex told her as he finished up his meal, "I'm going to look for her. I don't care if I get detention until the end of the year for skipping. She's my sister, she's my responsibility."

Koko nodded, "I'll cover for you, then. I'll tell the teacher you weren't feeling well so you went to the nurse. He won't question it. If you need my help, I'll have my phone on vibrate. Just let it ring four times and I'll get out of class and find you."

"How will you get out?"

"Lady troubles," Koko smirked. "You would be surprised how well that excuse works on the male teachers… except the health teacher…"

"Thanks, Koko," Alex smiled. He picked up his tray and dumped it in the nearby garbage. The advantage of being the school newbie and the loser was that he never had to walk far to get to the waste bin. It was always right there. "I so owe you."

"I'll remember that," Koko grinned. "My parents are out of town as of tomorrow and I've only got so much money left on my student card for lunch."

"Deal."

-Fight-Flight-

At first, a walk through the forest seemed like a fun idea to Libby. It was like an adventure. The boys told her that beyond the forest there was a field even bigger than the one in the school, and they could run around and throw the football there. Libby had been really excited and was the first to get into the car and drive to the edge of the forest. She had jumped out and started looking around in awe. The trees were huge, the branches were long and wide and the wildlife was active.

The boys had been telling her a lot of cool stuff about the forest and the animals as well, especially when Libby saw two squirrels playing together. Diego, the football player who invited Libby on this trip, had been the one to explain everything about animals, and Libby was hanging off his every word. He knew so much about squirrels getting together and having fun. He promised Libby they would have that much fun too when they got to the field on the other side of the forest.

But the longer Libby and the boys traveled through the forest, the more Libby was starting to doubt there was a field on the other side of the forest. Instead of seeing a clearing, the forest was only getting more and denser, and much darker as well. The heavy clouds in the grey sky weren't doing anything to help matters.

"How much farther," Libby whined. "My feet hurt!"

"We're almost there, girl, I promise," Diego smiled to her. He stopped and turned his back to her, "How about you jump up."

"Huh?" Libby cocked her head sideways and furrowed her brow.

"It's called a piggy-back," Diego explained. "You jump up on my back, and I carry you. Just wrap your arms around my neck and I'll lift you up. It's fun."

"Jump up?" Libby asked and Diego nodded. She grinned, "Okay!"

She jumped up on his back and Diego was quick to catch her. He adjusted her so she was resting on him comfortably. Libby wrapped her arms around his neck, careful not to strangle him. Suddenly, she remember something.

"Aren't we supposed to be heading back to school?" she asked. "We have to get back for the assembly!"

"What assembly?" Diego asked her. Libby looked at him.

"You told me there was an assembly. You said that's why there were no classes today. All the teachers were getting their speeches ready."

"I never said that," Diego shook his head before he gave the boys a look. They smiled back.

Libby, though, wasn't happy. She hit Diego in the back.

"Yes you did! You told me there was an assembly! You told me what an assembly was and you told me what a speech was."

"I didn't."

"Yes you did!" Libby grabbed Diego's hair and started pulling, at which Diego let out a scream. He let Libby drop to the ground, but that only caused her to pull on his hair harder.

"Stop it!"

"You're lying to me!" Libby shouted. "You told me there was an assembly! You did! You did! You did!"

"God, shut up!" Diego finally got Libby to let go of his hair. "Okay, okay, I remember now. There is an assembly… but those are boring anyways."

"I want to see it," Libby told him. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I want to see the assembly. I've never been to one before. I want to know what happens."

"People talk about stupid stuff, okay. It's not as fun as what we're going to do."

"What are we going to do?" Libby shouted, desperate for an answer. Diego had never told her what the big fun event was. All she knew was that they were going to throw a football around and have just as much fun as the two squirrels.

"Do you know what sexting is?" Diego asked her. Libby titled her head.

"No."

"That's what we're going to do," Diego said. "It's really fun, but you can't tell anyone. Not the loser and definitely not your parents."

"How do you play?"

Diego and the boys looked around. Deciding they were far enough into the forest, they agreed this was as good a spot as any. They wouldn't get caught by anyone here.

"Take off your clothes."

Libby bit her lip, but she pulled off her jacket. She smiled and handed it to Diego.

"There."

"Your sweater too," Diego coaxed her. Libby looked around at her friends. It was rather cold out, but if these were the rules, she needed to stick to it. She took off her sweater and smiled.

"Okay."

"The rest of your clothes too," Diego told her. "You have to be naked."

Alarm bells started to go off in Libby's head. Something didn't feel right about this.

"Do you guys have to be naked too?"

"You go first, we'll be naked later."

"I don't like this game," Libby frowned. "My mom told me…"

"Look, your mom's an old witch who probably isn't getting any, okay?" Diego groaned. "Just take your clothes off before…"

"What's a witch?" Libby asked.

Diego rubbed his temples, "It's an old, mean, ugly lady. Now take your clothes…"

"My mom's not old, ugly or mean. She's young, pretty and very nice."

"Whatever, just…"

"She told me it wasn't nice to take my clothes off in public."

"We're not in public…"

"She said I could only take them off when I was with her at home, because she used to help me get dressed, or if I was with a doctor. I should never do it at school, or anywhere else because it's rude and people don't need to see me."

"That's stupid."

"No it's not," Libby shook her head.

"We want to see you," Diego growled. "Now, are you going to take your clothes off or…?"

"I want to go see the assembly…"

"Not this again…"

"I want to go now," Libby demanded. She plated her feet firmly into the ground. "I'm not doing anything until we see the assembly. And I want a piggyback ride to the car."

"How about we make a deal?"

"No deals. Assembly now, please."

"I didn't want to have to do this," Diego said. He turned to the boys, "Let's just do it before this turns into a babysitting job."

"Are you sure?" one of the boys asked. "We were only going to do this if she went along with it."

"Do what?" Libby asked.

"She's too stupid to realise what's going on," Diego shrugged and Libby felt her heart ripping in two. These people weren't her friends. They were insulting her, just like the mean girls. She wasn't stupid.

Diego continued, "We promised Hank and Jim we would get back at New Kid for them and we're going to do it. We'll just do it, she'll shut up about it, and nothing's going to happen."

"Okay…" the boy shrugged and grabbed Libby's belt. She looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

Diego advanced towards her, "We're going to have a lot of fun, okay?"

"Are we going to the assembly?" Libby asked.

"In a minute. First can we take a few pictures of you?"

Libby shrugged and then smiled, "Cheese!"

"Not like that," Diego told her as the boy pulled her belt off. "First, you need the clothes taken off. Spence, help her speed things up…"

Spence remained frozen in place, as did the other boys. The belt fell out of his hand and hit the ground. Frustrated, Diego turned to them.

"Guys, don't chicken out. New Kid humiliated Hank and Jim and no one touches the football team without suffering the consequences."

"It's not that," Spence whispered and he pointed over Diego's shoulder. The teenager rolled his eyes and turned around. Frustration turned into terror when he saw what was making the football team quiver in fear. On top of a rock, a large, unusually purple, wolf was standing, teeth bare and ready to attack.

"Holy shit…" Diego managed to mutter.

"If we stand still, maybe…"

"Screw that!" Diego shouted. He grabbed the nearest player and tossed him to the ground before bolting in the opposite direction of the wolf. The vicious creature jumped off the rock and landed a couple of feet from the fallen football player. The boy was quick to rise and chased after his friends.

"Dudes!" he called after them.

Libby, however, wasn't terrified. She was intrigued. The wolf was shiny and it looked rather fuzzy. When she reached out to touch it, the wolf dropped the attack and leaned into her. Suddenly, the wolf disappeared right into thin air. Libby stared at the spot where the wolf once stood and tears threatened to spill over.

Before they could, RJ rushed out from behind the trees. He grabbed her sweater and jacket from the ground and walked over to her.

"Libby?" he called, unsure if she would recognise him. He had been taking his afternoon jog through the forest while Dominic and Theo covered him at JKP. Thankfully he did, and he had come across Libby and the boys. He didn't catch every word of their conversation, but as soon as he heard the boys trying to persuade Libby to taking her clothes off, he knew he had to interfere. Things could have gone one of two ways. Either the boys would overpower Libby, or she would unleash her own animal spirit by accident and then there would be a big mess to clean up.

Libby looked up at RJ. She couldn't remember his name, but she did remember his face and she knew he was a friend of Kelly and Hunter.

"Was that an animal spirit?" she asked, putting the pieces together. RJ was impressed. He nodded his head.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"There is an assembly," Libby explained. "Diego told me classes were cancelled."

"Sounds to me like Diego isn't a very trustworthy person," RJ told her. "You shouldn't hang out with people like him."

Libby lowered her head, "I don't like him. He called me stupid."

"I'll take you back to school, okay?"

"Will you take me to the assembly?" Libby asked hopefully.

RJ nodded his head, "Yeah. Alex is probably worried sick about you."

He helped her with her sweater and her jacket before leading her out of the forest. He only got a few steps before Libby asked him for a piggyback, and she wouldn't take no for an answer.


	66. Hunter, Kelly and Fran Have the Talk

Thankfully, Alex hadn't left school property by the time he noticed RJ and Libby crossing the road. He had searched everywhere inside the school, while avoiding teachers so he wouldn't get detention, and had just decided to check the field and the area around the school, assuming Libby wouldn't go far. The moment he saw her, safe and sound with RJ, relief and anger washed over him. He marched over to her.

"Where the hell have you been?" he shouted and Libby looked at him fearfully. Alex wasn't in any state to stop himself. He had been worried sick all day and never wanted her to leave him like that again. He couldn't contain himself as he continued to yell. "Do you know what you put Koko and me through? You had us worried sick! Why the hell didn't you turn up to class...?"

"There was no class…" Libby shook her head, but Alex continued.

"Do you know how stupid that was, Libby?" Libby's eyes immediately filled with tears when she heard this. She wasn't stupid… she was special. Alex had told her that himself. Now he was taking it back. She didn't understand. "I never, ever want you running off on me like that again. It was stupid, irresponsible, immature and downright moronic!"

"I'm not stupid…" Libby whispered.

Alex pointed to the school doors, "Get inside and grab your stuff. If Hunter and Kelly ever find out about this they're going to kill you… and me!"

"What?" Libby's tear filled eyes widened, but Alex pointed to the door. He growled.

"Inside. Now!"

Broken and defeated, Libby walked back inside the school. Alex watched her before running a hand through his hair and taking a moment to calm down. He felt RJ placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not one to tell you how to handle someone like Libby… but wasn't that a little harsh?"

"Do you know how freaked out I was, RJ?" Alex frowned. "One minute, she's running to her locker to get a pen, the next minute I feel like I'm going to have to explain to Hunter and Kelly why they're filling out missing person reports."

"You have a right to be worried, scared and angry," RJ nodded, "But Libby… technically she's still just a kid. She doesn't know right from wrong."

"If you're trying to pin the blame on me for this, I don't want to hear it. I know I have to keep a close eye on her."

"I'm just saying, rage, put downs and a hot-temper isn't going to teach her anything. Keep an eye on her for the rest of the day and promise me you won't yell at her again."

"Whatever," Alex said. He threw RJ's hand off his shoulder, but the wolf Master caught his arm.

"I'm serious, Alex," he said. "You're her friend. She needs to feel safe with you when she's here. She needs to be able to tell you everything."

"She can."

"She's a child," RJ said. "And children tend to give their parents and siblings the silent treatment when they don't like them… or when they don't feel safe."

"Okay! Okay!" Alex grumbled before he followed his sister into the school. RJ just let out a sigh. He couldn't tell Alex what he heard, especially after the way the boy blew up at Lily. But he needed to tell Hunter and Kelly. This was a topic they couldn't ignore anymore. Not with Libby in school.

Theo and Dom were going to have to cover for him for a few more hours.

-Fight-Flight-

"I've never given anyone the talk before," Fran frowned as she sat at the table with Hunter and Kelly. She had been invited over as soon as Hunter got off the phone with RJ and had been asked to help give Libby the talk about boys and some of the needs that she may start to feel, as well as what boys were really trying to do when they spoke or behaved a certain way around her. Hunter was very uncomfortable with this talk with Libby, and he, Kelly and Fran settled on letting him talk to Alex about the ways he could protect the teenage girl, as well as giving the young man a man's version on the woman's sex talk so Alex could be prepared during school hours.

Kelly had to take on the challenge of explaining life's facts to Libby, and figured an extra head would help out a lot in dealing with this matter. But it was obvious that the extra head did nothing to ease the nerves of the parents and the aunt.

It didn't help that they knew what almost happened to their girl in the forest. While RJ had gathered that they only wanted to take pictures of Libby naked, no one really knew if the boys would stop there or if they would get greedy and go all the way.

The door flew open and stomachs turned as the three realised it was time. Libby ran in, crying her eyes out. She dropped her bag at the door, kicked off her shoes, threw off her jacket and raced upstairs to her bedroom. Alex was next to walk in and he too seemed rather upset. But there was also an air of frustration coming from him. He slammed the door shut and slammed his bag into the wall.

"She's impossible," he growled. "This has been the worst day of school ever, even worse than the time I had my shirt on backwards and inside out for the entire morning and didn't realise until I was halfway through flirting with a girl and she pointed it out and laughed at me!"

"Alex…"

"First, Libby thinks it would be fun to play hide and go seek with me," he started his cover story, hoping his parents wouldn't find out about Libby disappearing from school, "and then, when I have to skip class to find her," he assumed the school must have called them, if not, it would make his story seem more believable, "I get detention and extra homework, because it was the teacher whose class I skipped who found me!"

"Alex…"

"Whose fucking idea was it to enrol her in school?"

"First of all: language," Kelly barked at the boy. "Second: don't you dare lie to us!"

Alex frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"RJ called," Hunter said. "He told us everything. Libby leaving school grounds, her in the forest, you yelling at her."

"Fine, whatever," Alex said. He grabbed a chair and sat down, "The idiot thought it would be fun to worry me senseless and run off with the football team! I didn't get caught by any teachers, so I don't have detention, but boy, detention would be a lot better than having to take care of her, right now."

"Talk to him," Kelly growled to Hunter and she motioned to the boy's bedroom. She couldn't go up the stairs in her wheelchair, and therefore her and Fran's talk with Libby needed to take place downstairs.

"I will," Hunter nodded his head. He grabbed Alex' wrist and pulled him to the stairs. He wasn't mad at Alex, though he was finding his behaviour towards his sister a little appalling, but this talk was something serious, and he knew that unless he was firm, Alex wasn't going to listen.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Alex whined as he was pulled away.

Once Hunter and Alex were safely hidden in Alex' room, Fran went to retrieve Libby. She finally got the teenager downstairs, but noticed Libby seemed hesitant, and almost fearful to meet with her mother. She quivered as Fran sat her down on the couch and she looked at her mother.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Kelly asked gently. Libby started to play with her hands.

"I don't want to tell you about my day at school," she said. "Not today…"

"Sweetheart, I already know what happened. Your Uncle RJ told me…"

Libby's eyes widened in terror as she recalled what Alex told her. Her parents were going to kill her and Alex if they found out about her day. Libby didn't understand that was just a saying teenagers used, and Alex hadn't calmed down enough to explain it to her. She was terrified that he was speaking the truth, and that her parents were, in fact, going to hurt her.

"Calm down," Fran whispered and gently stroked her back. "It's okay…"

"I just want to know what happened," Kelly said carefully. "Can you please tell me why you skipped school and went to the forest with all those guys?"

"You'll be mad," Libby whispered. "I don't want you to hurt me."

"I will never hurt you," Kelly assured her daughter. "I'm not mad. Not at you. You have nothing to worry about."

"There was an assembly," Libby explained. "Diego told me there were no classes because there was an assembly… but he lied to me. There wasn't any assembly."

"So, because there were no classes, you left the school?" Fran asked. Libby nodded.

"We were playing football," she said. "And then they told me there was an even bigger field, and we were going to have even more fun. So I went with them…"

While Fran and Kelly pulled the story from Libby, Hunter was dealing with his own challenge with Alex. He didn't exactly know where to start with the boy. It wasn't like parenting two teenagers came with an instruction manual. Nor did parenting a teenage boy and girl, the latter of which hadn't reached the teenage years mentally.

But he found some starter words and hoped they would take him where he needed to go.

"Look, I know Libby running off like that must have freaked you out."

"It was horrible," Alex nodded. "She wasn't anywhere in the school and she wouldn't ever miss class! The old Libby never did and the new Libby is just… not that kind of person. Something was up and it scared me."

"You have every right to be scared," Hunter said. "But RJ told me about the outburst you had. The words you said… and the way you're talking about Libby, even behind her back… it's disgusting, Alex."

"I know," Alex sighed. "I'll apologise when I'm not so scared…"

"Do you know what happened?" Hunter asked. "Out in the forest, when RJ found Libby… do you have any idea what the guys were trying to get her to do?"

"Libby said they didn't want her to talk about it," Alex shook his head. "That's all I got from her. They told her not to tell us."

"RJ heard some of it…" Hunter sighed. "Alex… I know it's a lot for you to take on… but you really have to keep a close eye on Libby. She's growing up fast, and because of that we can't keep up. She's vulnerable to everything and she's counting on us to keep her safe."

"Are you saying I let her down?"

"No," Hunter shook his head. He didn't want Alex to feel like this was his fault. He was only a kid. He could only do so much. "But you have to promise you'll try harder. Those boys at school, they don't see her the same way we do. She's easy pickings, you know that, right?"

"You mean…?" Alex frowned as Hunter nodded his head. "How could they even think that? She was born yesterday… and that's not just a saying!"

"But that's exactly why it's so easy. Libby will do whatever people tell her because she doesn't know right from wrong yet. She's not the most trusting of people, but she makes friends easily. Five minutes back on Earth and she was already best friends with Summer and Kelly! While she's at school, it's up to you to make sure that she's making the right kind of friends, do you understand that?"

"I know… but it's hard… no one wants to hang out with the new kid and the girl who asks way too many questions."

"You have one friend, don't you?" Hunter asked. "Kokoro?"

"Yeah."

"That's all you need right now," Hunter assured him. "You'll branch out. You'll stop being the new kid once another wave of students come in, and you'll start to settle in. We'll get this issue with the football team sorted with the principal again, and we'll get as many people involved as possible to make sure this school cleans itself up."

"The football team will kill her if they find out she ratted them out," Alex sighed.

"It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen," Hunter smiled. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Do you think you can do that, bro?"

Alex nodded, "I'll try my best. I don't want anything to happen to her… or me!"

"Worse come to worse you've got six Ninjas, five Pai Zhuq and three RPM Rangers willing to kick football ass," Hunter chuckled. "We'll get over this."

Just as Alex was starting to feel a little better, Hunter reached for the desk and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper.

"Now, Kelly and Fran are going over the basics with Libby, but seeing as you're spending most of the day with her, you'll be getting a lot of questions. We'll need to make sure you can answer the questions, without turning red in the face or giggling like a nervous schoolgirl."

"Are we…?"

"I'm just as uncomfortable as you are, bro," Hunter nodded, "But it's time for the talk. The female version."

Alex stuck his fingers in his ears, "LALALA!"

-Fight-Flight-

Hunter slowly walked down the stairs. His face was red from embarrassment. He didn't think he was ever going to be giving the talk to anyone… at least not for another twenty-something years. But he had made it through. He survived. Alex was a little unnerved, slightly disgusted, and swore he was never going to look at women the same way again, but that would wear off after a good night's sleep, Hunter knew that.

He saw Kelly sitting in her chair, in the same position as always, but her eyes told him all he needed to know. Fran was over by the couches and from what Hunter could hear she was finishing off the Libby version of the talk he had just given Alex. It didn't go into the major details of the birds and the bees, but it did highlight certain emotions, feelings and behaviour associated with the act.

Libby seemed delighted and intrigued, which was a good sign in Hunter's eyes. It meant that the talk was going well, and wasn't going to traumatize her. Kelly, on the other hand, looked like she had just witnessed something horrible.

He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her, "Are you okay?"

"She's never going back to school again."

"It was a one-time thing," Hunter assured her. "Alex knows to keep a closer eye on her, he understands what she needs right now to stay safe and I gave him the talk so that he can handle things when we're not around… and Libby seems fine."

"She's fine because she has no idea what the hell happened to her!" Kelly all but shouted. Fran was doing an amazing job at keeping Libby distracted though. "She's way too innocent and naïve for this… we should have put her in elementary school or… preschool! It was stupid to think she would get special help in a high school."

"She's learning, that's the important part," Hunter smiled. "It's the other students that are the problem. It's bullying. It's nothing we can control. But we are going to stop it."

"It was sexting, Hunter," Kelly frowned. "They asked her if they could take a picture of her naked. Libby told me they were trying to get back at Alex for humiliating Hank and Jim. It's the entire football team against our two kids… not to mention the mean girls!"

Kelly ran her good hand through her hair, "We should have just bought him the video games and let him rot on the couch when we had the chance. But no, we had to give him and Libby an education. We just had to do the right thing."

"Libby's unharmed, Alex is calm again and we're on top of things," Hunter took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, though Kelly wouldn't feel it very well with the cast. But the sentiment was appreciated. "We'll roll in there with the kids tomorrow morning; we'll get the principal, the teachers, and everyone possible on high alert for the bullying. There will be consequences for those kids and Alex and Libby will both flourish in school."

"If that doesn't work?"

"Cam may not look like the most intimidating guy, but he has the brains and the skills to dominate this world and the next. I'm sure he'll help out."

Hunter pulled in closer to Kelly. He rubbed her arm gently.

"Everything will be fine. I promise. It'll work out," he glanced over his shoulder at Fran and Libby before turning back to Kelly, "How about you get back there and finish up with Fran. Libby loves her Aunt Fran, but she's a lot more comfortable around you."

"Roll me over," Kelly nodded. Hunter gave her a quick kiss before following her instructions. However, the minute she was back in the conversation, he darted off. He had already given the talk once. He wasn't about to hear it a second time. Even if it was the toned-down-Libby version.


	67. Lily's First Day

For as long as she had been going to therapy, Lily never really figured out exactly what her therapist was trying to accomplish with his crazy sessions and weird treatments, but the one thing she couldn't deny was how effective they had been so far. She wasn't afraid to leave the house, she was spending more time with her friends, and the nightmares were no longer as terrifying as they had been before the therapy started, and for the first time since her PTSD kicked in, Lily had actually sat down and watched TV, and there hadn't been a freak out.

So, when her therapist suggested she spend the week in a very busy school, Lily was confused, but trusted he knew what he was doing. All he told her was that he wanted her to get out into the world and deal with the business, the chaos and the dramas. To him, there was no better place than a public High School.

With permission from the principal, Lily had obtained a visitor's pass which was good for the week, and she even received a temporary locker to hold her stuff in. She would attend classes, do the homework and the assignments, and was expected to follow the rules like any other student. There was a slight nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the stressed teenagers rush past her in all directions, and the thought of needing to deal with the everyday stress of a student while being expected to hand in all her work on time made her heart race, but she felt confident she could overcome it.

She clutched her books to her chest and kept her gaze on the floor in front of her as she scurried through the halls. She was a few years older than the seniors in the school, and people were definitely noticing her. They were staring at her and watching her every move. Lily could hear them whispering and gossiping about her as they fabricated lies and rumours from thin air.

Lily finally realised what most teenagers already knew. Unless you were at the top of the food chain, high school sucked!

She focused her attention elsewhere as she pulled out her schedule and checked the room number of her first class. 216. At least she knew that class was upstairs.

She hurried to the stairs but just as she was about to climb up, she bumped into someone and dropped all her books. She nearly jumped out of her own skin before diving down and gathering all her things.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she heard Hunter ask her. Surprised, she looked up.

"And I thought I didn't belong," she chuckled nervously. "I've only got a few years on these kids. What about you? Aren't you, like, a decade older?"

"Shut up," Hunter frowned. He helped Lily grab her things from the floor, "I happen to have two kids who go to this school."

"Excellent," Lily nodded, "That's two faces I'll know for the week."

"Why are you here?" Hunter asked her as he handed her a book, surprised she actually had schoolbooks like the students. He recognised it because Alex and Libby had the exact same book.

Lily took the book and smiled, "I could ask you the same thing. You know, only losers bring their parents to school."

"I just got out of a meeting with the principal concerning the bullying that's been going on involving Alex and Libby," Hunter explained and Lily quickly nodded her head.

"I heard about that from Fran," she said. "I can't believe those boys would take it that far."

"Neither can the teachers," Hunter sighed. "They promised me they would keep an eye on the kids for me, but they didn't take down the names of the students Libby gave them. They told me that due to her condition, her word couldn't be trusted."

"What condition?" Lily asked.

"They called it mental retardation," Hunter said, "They actually think she has a learning problem and doesn't function like all the other students."

"Wouldn't they take stronger action against bullies in the school if they believe Libby's a Special Ed student?"

"They won't even put her in the special class because it's _too full_, whatever that means," Hunter scoffed. "All they told me was that the first period teacher would talk to her students, especially the members of the football team… I'm just scared that doing that will single the kids out, you know?"

"I'm here for the week," Lily offered, "If you want, I can go undercover and keep an eye on Alex and Libby."

"Don't you have your own mission already?" Hunter asked her. "You never answered me. Why are you here?"

"My therapist is a little unique," Lily chuckled and the bell for first period rang. "Shit! I'm already late."

"Don't stress yourself out," Hunter called to her as Lily dashed up the stairs.

Before she disappeared completely she called down to him, "I have a feeling that might be the point…"

-Fight-Flight-

"So, let me get this straight… Fran can't take you because she's busy helping RJ in JKP because RJ thinks that too many males working together without a female unleashes the male's need to challenge and dominate the other males to become the leader of the pack… and that'll somehow ruin the whole pizza making dynamic…"

"Yep."

"Okay… and the reason Fran has to be there is because Lily's therapist, who is trying to help her deal with her post-traumatic _stress_ disorder sent her back to High School with all the obligations of a regular student."

"Yep."

"Okay… and Hunter's at the school too trying to get the pervert bullies to stop picking on your daughter with an unexplainable condition as well as you're not-really son who has been given the role of looking out for her during school hours."

"Yep."

Tori bit her lip, "I'm not the only one who realises how weird this is all sounding, right?"

"I know," Kelly nodded, "What kind of dynamic is RJ talking about? It's just pizza!"

Tori chuckled and shook her head, "I'll never understand him."

The doctor walked back into the room with Kelly's x-rays ready to go. Desperate to get out of the chair and start moving around on her own, Kelly wanted to know just how far along things were progressing and how much longer it would take for her to be back on her feet again. It had been a few weeks since the injuries had occurred, and Kelly was hoping for a little good news. She had made the appointment a few days ago thinking Hunter or Fran would be able to get the day off to wheel her in and out of the doctor's office, but with all the crazy drama of normal life, neither could be there. So, Kelly had to call in the next best, and most available thing: Tori. Thankfully, she could get the day off because Hayley was more than happy to take over the Ranger's training. Dr. K wasn't happy about this arrangement, but could do nothing to stop Tori from leaving. Tori had told the doctor: "If you want me to stay, you'll have to come out here and hold me down".

Dr. K never showed up, and Tori was free to go.

"Alright Miss Holloway," the doctor smiled as he held up the x-rays, "I'll just run you through things quickly so you understand…"

"Yeah, yeah, the white stuff is bones, I've done this before, how long do I have?"

"Way to make it sound like you're dying," Tori chuckled. Kelly glared at her.

"As expected, the cast on your wrist is ready to come off," the doctor told Kelly, "But it'll still be a few more weeks for your legs and arm. There were several breaks and it's going to take a little more time to heal."

Tori could see the disappointed and slightly angered look in Kelly's eyes. She smiled as she turned to the doctor.

"You're lucky she's immobile," she told him. "I've seen her give Dustin that look right before he ran away screaming."

"The good news is she should be able to make a full recovery," the doctor told Tori. "It might still be a few more months before she's walking around again, even with crutches or a cane, but once she's up, she'll be good as new."

"That's good to know," Tori nodded. She grabbed the back of Kelly's chair, "C'mon, you, we got your answers."

"Is there anything I can do to speed this along?" Kelly asked the doctor hopefully.

"Just keep doing what you're doing, and keep up with the rest," the doctor advised her. "Your body can heal itself on its own. It doesn't need you getting in its way."

"You suck," Kelly muttered. He hadn't answered her question, and he certainly didn't tell her what she wanted to hear. She had always been an active person, even when she gave up the athletic life. She loved being a part of the action. Now, being in this chair, not only was she in a very passive role, but she was also fragile and therefore she was left on the sidelines to watch the action.

It sucked.

"Thank you, doctor," Tori tried her best to be polite to the medical professional in order to make up for Kelly's behaviour. It was understandably, and rather funny, but Tori figured the doctor had enough to deal with. "What about her wrist? Can you do anything today?"

The doctor checked his watch, "My assistant will be in any minute now. When he gets here I'll send him straight to you. I've got a full waiting room out there waiting on me."

"Thank you," Tori smiled and the doctor left. She nudged her friend. "Did you hear? Your wrist will be able to move again!"

"Now I can spin around in circles faster," Kelly pouted and she gripped her wheel with her recovered hand, "That's fantastic. Libby will have a field day watching me chase my tail."

"She's very easily entertained," Tori smirked. "Butterfly pens, a broken spinning mom, sex Ed talk…"

"Don't remind me…"

"Just wait. Soon, her body will catch up with her age and she'll get her menses. Hunter's definitely not going to be any help there… and neither will Alex."

"I brought you here for support," Kelly said as she looked up at Tori. The blue Ranger laughed.

"You brought me here because without my help you would still be spinning in circles in your living room."

"Shut up."

"Why?" Tori giggled, "This is fun."

-Fight-Flight-

Tenth grade wasn't the ideal spot to be in high school. You weren't exactly the new kids still trying to adjust, but you were nowhere near the top of the pack.

Fortunately, Lily had age on her side. The students could tell she was much older than they were and didn't want to get involved with her at all, allowing Lily to sit at the back of the class, away from the action, and simply observe and take notes all morning. Thankfully, she hadn't forgotten her high school years just yet, so class was more of a refresher than a painful reminded of the lessons she'd learned, and she had been able to keep up easily.

Lunch proved to be brutally painful though. She hadn't seen Libby or Alex all day (her schedule was the reverse of theirs), and had no friends to sit with in the cafeteria. She gripped her tray tightly as she looked around for either the two kids, or an empty table.

She spotted a table right next to the football players. Having heard the stories of the bullying, Lily wasn't fond of that seating plan, but it was the best she had. She walked to the empty table and set her tray down. She placed herself as close to the football team as possible, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation not only for entertainment purposes, but to make sure they weren't planning revenge on Libby or Alex after having been ratted out. Kids were cruel, especially to each other.

"I can't believe you guys were such chickens," she heard one of the player say, "It was just a wolf, and there are more of you than there are of him. All you had to do was make yourselves look more threatening and it would have left."

"Um, hello, it's a wolf! A man-eating, wild beast with sharp teeth and claws. If you were there, you would have run."

"Did you at least get the pictures? The teachers can't exactly stop us from posting the pictures."

"The bitch was stubborn. She wouldn't take her clothes off. She's mommy's little girl, apparently."

"So, you cowards didn't get the pictures, and you ran away from the wolf? Maybe we should change our name from the Mighty Lions to the Pathetic Pussies."

"Look, the girls are working on separation Koko and the loser from Libby. Once they do we'll try her again. We'll get her this time and dork-head's going to regret sending a ninja after us! He'll regret stepping foot into our school."

"Foot being the operative word," all the boys laughed at this, making Lily's blood boil. The only thing she agreed with in the entire conversation was the cowardliness of the entire football team, but that aside, the entire conversation disgusted her.

She looked around the cafeteria and spotted a crowd of girls standing around a table. As she focused on the table, she spotted Alex, Libby and a girl sitting at the table. The girl seemed to be challenging the other girls, and upon closer inspection, Lily could see that the girl was trying to get the others to leave the table.

She slammed her fork down on her tray as she got up. No one picked on the cubs in her presence. Not when there was something she could do about it. She made her way over to the table and pushed her way through the crowd.

"You know, I'm actually here conducting a study on how long it takes loser germs to spread to beautiful girls like yourself," Lily said as she broke through the crowd. "So far, research shows that it takes about ten minutes if you share the same air as a total loser, never mind three. If you girls know what's good for you, you'll back away now."

Koko frowned and looked at Alex, "I've never seen her in this school before."

"She's a friend… but I have no idea what she's doing here."

One of the girls crossed her arms over her chest, challenging Lily, "You're not here doing research. You were in Becky's class taking notes…"

"Is that a zit?" Lily asked as she pointed to the girl's forehead. Immediately the girl threw her hands up to cover the suspected blemish. "You better hurry up; once you start breaking out, loser germs really begin their takeover. Soon, you'll be a size three!"

The girls rushed off in a panic, still doubtful of Lily's reasons for being in the school, but unwilling to risk the possibility of a zit on their faces. Lily smiled as she turned to the three. Libby was watching in awe, the girl, Koko, seemed to be laughing, and Alex frowned.

"You had to make me the loser?" he asked Lily. "Why couldn't I be the king of an old world or something cool?"

"You're just lucky I didn't tell them about the crush you used to have on your 'mother'," Lily smirked. Alex glared at her.

"Our midnight talks were confidential."

"And I didn't tell anyone," Lily grinned. She took a seat at the table, "Word of advice to you guys, those football perverts… yeah, they're perverts."

"Trust me, I know," Koko nodded her head. Alex, Libby and Lily shot her a look, at which Koko responded, "Never mind."

"What's a pervert?" Libby asked innocently.

Alex whispered the answer in her ear and Libby's face cringed. She looked at her brother.

"But I don't love them!"

"Unfortunately, sex isn't under lock and key," Alex said. "Remember what Kelly and Aunt Fran told you? There are some people out there who want to do bad things to you because they are bad people. Unless you get the okay from me, Kelly or Hunter, don't ever go off with anybody, okay?"

Libby nodded her head, "Okay."

"Keep an eye on her," Lily warned Alex and the girl, who at this point she could only assume was a friend. "I got rid of those girls for a reason. The Cowardly Lions over there were using the girls to draw you and her away from Libby so they could get their second shot. They're after her to get back to you after you sent that ninja after them."

"I didn't send any ninja after them," Alex grumbled. "They were picking on me, and someone gave them a taste of their own medicine. End of story."

Alex nudged his head in Koko's direction and Lily caught the message.

"Whatever the story is, that's what they're going with," she said. She glanced at the football players, who seemed to be looking at her angrily, most likely because she ruined their plans to get to Libby. She shook her head and turned back to the teenagers. "I'm here for a week. With my help, by the time I'm gone, those guys aren't even going to want to walk down the same hallway as you three, and that's if they don't get expelled for sexual harassment."

"How are you going to help?" Koko asked Lily without trying to sound cynical about the odds of them overcoming the entire football team. Koko was one of the most influential students in the school and even she didn't have enough power to stop the boys from picking on her friends.

"I didn't attend a kung fu class for most of my childhood for nothing," Lily smirked. She looked at the teenagers; Libby especially, "Just stick with me, got it?"

"Got it, Aunt Lily," Libby nodded happily. She clapped her hands together, "We're like crime fighting superheroes! We're like a team."

"We're like the Power Rangers," Koko chuckled. She knew of Libby's new fascination with superheroes, and her obsession with becoming one, and she decided to play along for Libby's sake. Alex nearly choked on his lunch when he heard this and Lily had to hold in a laugh.

"Yeah, like the Power Rangers," she nodded.


	68. Beating the Bullies

Libby had been told that skipping classes was wrong. Good students went to their classes and never skipped school unless they were sick and could infect all the other students and the teachers with their germs and viruses.

But Libby wasn't sick. She was fit as a fiddle. In fact, she never felt better.

"I think this is what mom and dad would call a terrible role model," Libby pointed out as she sat in the hallway with Alex. Classes had begun a little over half an hour ago, and everyone was out of the halls. There was no way they would be caught, especially in this isolated area of the school. Teachers never walked down here, and they were just out of the camera's view.

It had taken a few days for Lily's plan to come into effect, but today was finally the day. Alex was almost sad to know that his Power Ranger protector was going to be gone after the following day, and what made him hurt more was that after today, he would hopefully never get to see her stand up for him and Libby and completely destroy the football team singlehandedly. She somehow knew all the words that seemed to hurt them, and held nothing back. She raised their tempers to get them riled up, and then she would break them down and humiliate them in public. She did the same with the mean girls. It was the entire football team and cheer squad against the loser-quartet, but somehow, these losers were winning.

Lily promised the championship with this plan. Everything she had done was leading up to this.

"We'll be able to focus better in school if we do this now," Alex whispered to Libby, hoping he would be able to explain their delinquent-like behaviour. "Sometimes, the end justifies the means. Kelly and Hunter will understand."

"What does that mean?" Libby asked, "The end and mean thing?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Alex told her as he tapped her arm, "They're coming. Pretend you don't notice them."

"What about the camera?" Libby asked him quickly as she looked over to where Kokoro was holding a camera and filming them. She gave Libby a smile and a thumbs up as she started recording, and carefully placed the camera on the foosball table in the hallway. Once it was set, Koko went to go find Lily to hand in Part Two of the cheetah's plan.

"Ignore it," Alex whispered before he was pulled to his feet by Hank and slammed into the lockers.

"By now, I figured you'd be smart enough to realise that being in class was the safest place for you losers to stay," Hank chuckled as he quickly looked at his team of football players behind him.

"Your academic achievement list must be a breeze to write up every year," Alex winced from the pain, but he knew it would all be worth it. "Just a few blank pieces of paper with your names on them."

"Shut up, dick face," Hank growled. He lifted Alex off his feet while Jim grabbed a garbage bin. He opened the lid and placed it underneath Alex. Alex looked down at the bin and his eyes widened as he was stuffed inside. He felt something wet hit his butt. It was most likely some kid's juice from lunch.

"This wasn't in the script," he muttered as the lid was placed over his head. Alex was trapped, regardless of how much he struggled. He was folded over and squeezed in so tightly, it was going to take an army to lift him out of there.

Diego pushed through the crowd of boys and stood before Libby, "We were thinking of playing a new game. What do you say?"

"Am I going to have to take my clothes off this time?" Libby asked. Diego shook his head and lied through his teeth.

"Look, we're sorry about that," he told her, "You know how boys get sometimes. We don't use our brains to think and it gets us in a lot of trouble. We wanted to make it up to you."

Libby frowned. That sounded like a lie. She turned to the garbage bin, where her brother had been stuffed inside. While she had been mad at him for shouting at her, Kelly and Fran explained his behaviour to her, and she understood to an extent. Alex had also apologized, which helped the process along. Thankfully, Libby still hadn't reached the stay where she knew how to hold a grudge. A friendly smile, a hug, and a sincere apology were enough for anyone to earn their place back in her good books.

Lily, Alex and Koko knew this about Libby, and they were hoping to use it to their advantage.

"You're not thinking with your brains now," Libby told the football team as she pointed to the garbage. "My brother's not supposed to go in there. I still need him."

Inside the garbage bin, Alex smiled.

Outside, Libby was glaring at the football team, "Get him out."

"We explained this to you, Libs," Diego said. He knelt down in front of Libby and carefully took her hands. He offered her a smile, "Your brother's a loser. We can't help it. If it were up to us, he would be one of the cool kids. But labels… they're like eye colour. You can't change them. You just have to accept who you are, and accept that people are going to treat you a certain way and that's the way you deserve to be treated."

"So… my brother belongs in the trash?"

"You're getting it," Diego smiled. "You're such a smart girl!"

"Thank you!" Libby beamed with pride. She jumped to her feet, "I'll play with you guys!"

"Sweet!" Diego told her as stood up and took her hand again. Hank and Jim lifted the garbage bin and Diego brought Libby in closer. "First rule of the game is we have to get rid of the trash. The best way of doing that…"

Hank and Jim started shaking the garbage. Now not only was Alex' butt wet with fruit juice, but everywhere else was as well.

"Gross!" he whined which made the football team laugh. They tipped the garbage on its side and placed it in front of Libby.

"Roll it all the way down the hall," they told her. Libby frowned, but did as they told her. She rolled the bin all the way down the hall, turned the corner, and continued to roll it until she almost ran into Lily. She skidded to a stop and Alex and the garbage bin rolled forward. Lily caught it with a laugh.

"You're good," she whispered to Libby. "Go back and play with the guys."

"They said I don't have to take my clothes off this time," Libby smiled. "They're being nice to me again."

"That's good," Lily nodded. She needed to play along with Libby to keep the young girl on track with the plan. She wasn't going to let anything happen to her, but she was hoping to get a little more on tape before she turned it into the principal, and the police. "Go play with them, now. I'll be right around the corner."

"Do you want to play too?" Libby offered. Lily shook her head.

"I'm already playing a different game," she said. "I'm playing hide and go seek."

"What's that?"

"I'm hiding from the football team," Lily explained. "They can't know I'm here, so don't tell them, okay?"

Libby nodded her head and held her index finger to her mouth, "I'll be quiet."

With a smile, Libby skipped back down the hallway. Knowing she had at least a few minutes before things turned nasty between Lily and the football team, the cheetah removed the lid from the garbage and pulled Alex out.

"I hate your plans," the teenager muttered as he was yanked forcefully from his prison. It took a few tries before he was completely out.

"Shut up, I'm doing this for you and Libby."

"What are we going to do about the mean girls, though?" Alex asked.

Lily smirked, "They're being dealt with as we speak."

Just as the words escaped her lips, Alex and Lily both heard the unmistakable yelling of the cheer coach echoing through the halls, and the pitter-patter of feet walking through the halls. Alex looked at Lily.

"How did you…?"

"I've always been the kind of person who liked to record my classes," Lily grinned. "When I knew I was coming back to school, I bought myself a recorder. Didn't bother using it when I realised classes were easy, but I did plant it on Libby when I left her alone in the bathroom for a few minutes with the girls. Best forty bucks I've ever spent, don't you think."

"Casey told me you were sweet, kind and considerate… I think you're a manipulative bitch."

"Hey!"

"The good kind," Alex quickly corrected himself. "You are fighting against the bullies."

A fearful scream interrupted the two as they remembered they still had the final leg of their plan to carry out.

"You promised!" Libby shouted.

"That's by cue," Lily said to Alex before leaving him alone to pick the rotting fruit and unfinished meals from his hair and clothes. She raced down the halls and pulled out her solar morpher which was once again operational thanks to Dr. K. She morphed just before turning the corner and as soon as she got into the camera free zone.

She stopped in front of the football team, thankfully just before they ripped off Libby's shirt.

"Right on school property," the yellow Ranger shook her head, "I think that kid was right about the Academic achievement papers. The secretaries must love you when they're filling those out."

The football players dropped Libby as they turned to the Power Ranger, completely in shock. Libby was surprised to see the Power Ranger as well, but she was terrified and knew the Power Rangers protected people, and she needed protecting. She ran over to Lily and hid behind her.

"What the hell are you…?"

"Get lost," Lily ordered the players. She glanced at the camera on the foosball table, which had gone unnoticed by the football team. She grinned behind her mask. Everything was working out. Now all she needed to do was get the football players to leave so she could grab the tape and Alex could hand it in.

"You don't scare us," Jim shouted. Lily tapped her chin.

"Well, maybe my friend will," she said before a large cheetah appeared in the middle of the hallway.

"Holy shit…" Jim breathed and he took a step back.

Diego was shaking in his boots. He tapped Hank and Jim, "S-see! See what w-we mean by s-s-s-scary!"

"That was a wolf," Hank whispered. "This is a full on… fat ass cheetah!"

"Hey! Cheetah's aren't fat!" Lily cried out and crossed her arms. "Get them, girl!"

The cheetah pounced and the boys took off running. Lily hoped they would run far as she powered down. Libby watched but couldn't contain her excitement when she saw that her Aunt Lily was a Power Ranger. She bounced and clapped her hands before throwing herself at Lily.

"Whoa! You're a superhero!"

"Promise you won't tell anyone, Libs?" Lily asked. "It's just like your super-secret butterfly. No one can know, okay?"

"Shh," Libby nodded. "It's a secret."

Lily smiled and walked over to the camera. She quickly deleted the last few minutes of footage showing the yellow Ranger's appearance and identity, and handed it to Alex as he arrived.

"You can do as you wish with this," she told him. "My advice would be to give it to the principal and the cops."

"What about when they ask what happened with Libby?" Alex asked, knowing full well Lily wouldn't reveal her identity and the tape would end before the end of Libby's assault.

"A smart kid like you will figure something out," Lily smiled. Koko turned down the hallway and rushed over.

"I got the tape to the cheer coach," she said. "She assured me that there would be consequences for all the girls on the team and promised they would leave Libby and Alex alone from now on. I think we may have just gotten them all suspended, though."

"They had it coming," Alex shrugged.

"What about the football team?" Koko asked. "How did you catch them?"

"In the act," Alex smirked as he held up the tape with the footage.

"Are they going to leave us alone?" Libby asked her brother. He nodded his head.

"From now on, no one's going to touch us," he assured her as he wrapped his arm around her. Libby's nose wrinkled and she pulled away.

"You're stinky."

"Think you cubs can handle things from here?" Lily asked. "I have a paper due tomorrow and I haven't even gotten started! I'm going to be up all night writing it."

"Don't stress yourself out," Alex chuckled. Lily gave him a look.

"Actually, I think I finally understand why my therapist sent me here," she said. "All this homework, the papers, the kids, the bullies, the teachers, the in-class assignments, the readings… that's stress."

"Tell us about it," Koko nodded.

"But I'm working through it," Lily continued. "I've overcome it, and I did it on my own. There's nothing to fear."

"I don't want to send you right back to square one, but the end of the world and school are two very different stressors," Alex frowned.

"After this week, I think I would rather face Venjix and his army than deal with another teacher and a late assignment. I do not envy you kids at all!"

"So you're all better?" Libby asked her Aunt. Lily shook her head.

"Not yet, Butterfly," she said. "But I'm getting there."

The school bell rang, marking the end of the day. Lily took her empty camera and smiled at the kids.

"Just think, guys. It's almost over."


	69. Celebrating

"So, you handed the tape in and then?" Dustin asked as he swung his kick right over Alex' head. The teenager ducked as he told his Sensei his story.

"The principal didn't believe it was real at first," he said. "He accused us of setting everything up and that everyone knew about the camera and was just joking around and that Libby, Koko and I were just trying to get the football players in a little trouble, but Koko can be very convincing."

"Sweet," Dustin smirked. He grabbed the boy's arm and twisted it behind his back painfully. Alex was stuck for a moment, before he remembered what Dustin had taught him a few weeks prior. Quickly, he wiggled away from his Sensei and knocked him to the ground.

"So the principal finally believed us and he called the entire football team to his office the next day and to their surprise, there were two police officers waiting in there for them. I wish I saw the look on their faces when the cops told them what the consequences could be just for being bullies, never mind trying to undress Libby and send naked pictures of her around school."

"Did you talk to the police at all?"

Alex nodded his head, "I went in there when they asked Libby for her side of the story."

"What are the football players and the cheer squad looking at?" Dustin asked. "Expulsion? Prison?"

"I wish," Alex threw a punch which just missed Dustin's face, "They've finally been suspended and they're being put on the list."

"The list?" Dustin frowned.

"The list of students teachers need to keep their eyes on," Alex explained. "The school's also forbidden them to come anywhere near me or Libby, even after hours. It's pretty sweet."

"I hope you thanked Lily for her help," Dustin said. "You realise you couldn't have done this without her?"

"I've been thanking her every day since," Alex chuckled. "I think she's getting a little pissed. That's her fault, though. She just had to do a good deed."

"No good deed goes unpunished," Dustin nodded. "Have you asked her how the therapy's going? The guys and I don't get to talk to the kittens very much. Cam and Shane are always begging Blake and me to help with the Ninja stuff."

"I don't understand most of the psychological stuff Lily tells me," Alex said. "But I think everything's going good. She's happy to be out of school. But apparently her therapist has her started on some new crazy treatment."

"At least it's not in school," Dustin said with a laugh. Alex nodded and quickly jumped back as Dustin rushed for him. He threw his hands up in the air and suddenly the dirt from the ground rose up with him, creating a sandstorm. Alex shielded his eyes before the dirt and sand got into them, and Dustin dropped to the ground and covered his face.

"Dude!" he shouted when the storm finally ceased.

Alex looked at his hands in awe, "What the hell was that?"

Libby, who had been training on the other side of the field with Dominic, rushed over to Alex with a skip in her step.

"Whoa! How did you do that?"

Alex shook his head, "I didn't mean for it to happen… It wasn't a fart, I swear!"

"That would have to be a big fart to move that much dirt," Dominic chuckled as he helped Dustin off the ground. The former yellow Ranger dusted himself off.

"That was wicked!" he cried. He looked at Alex, "You're earth!"

"What?"

"Earth!" Dustin pointed to the yellow trim on his uniform, "You're like me!"

"I'm Earth?"

"An earth ninja," Dustin nodded. "You've tapped into your inner ninja and unleashed your true power."

"How do you know it wasn't just some crazy wind?" Dominic asked both sceptically and jokingly. Dustin shook his head. He knew the truth.

"You finally found your element!"

"Just like I found my butterfly!" Libby clapped her hands and jumped into Alex' arms. She wrapped her own around his neck in a congratulatory hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Libs…"

"C'mon!" Libby grabbed his hand and started pulling him off the field, "We have to go tell mom and dad! They're going to be so proud of you! Maybe they'll celebrate with you like they did when I found my butterfly."

"I'm coming," Alex chuckled. He looked at both Dominic and Dustin, "Um, Senseis, do you mind if we cut class short?"

"There is no saying no to Libby," Dominic nodded.

"You deserve it," Dustin agreed. "But we'll train again tomorrow. Now that we know what you are, we'll be able to move along much faster."

"Thanks Senseis!" Alex smiled.

Dom and Dustin watched their two students rush off the field and hurry back home. Libby almost appeared more excited about Alex' spirit than Alex did, but Dustin knew the boy was jumping with joy on the inside.

Dominic nudged him, "It seems like only yesterday we took them under our wings. Now look at them… all grown up and ready to fly."

"Your butterfly, maybe," Dustin said. "But my earth Ninja is keeping his two feet on solid ground. You do not want to see an Earth Ninja in the skies. That spells trouble."

Dominic nodded. It made sense.

"They've been doing really well since they got the bullying issue sorted," he changed the topic.

"Confidence," Dustin smirked. "They overcame something tough."

"It's good to see things are working out."

-Fight-Flight-

"Don't squeeze it too hard," Kelly warned Libby as the teenager stood over the cake they had baked with a tube of icing. It had been Libby's idea to bake a cake and the teenager was thrilled it had been accepted. Not only was she going to make Alex a special cake for his special day, but Kelly had promised to let her help with the baking of the cake. Libby loved learning, and loved spending time with her mother.

"C-O-N-G-R-A-T-S-A-L-E-X," Libby spelt out the words as she wrote them in icing on the cake. She turned to her mother and smiled as she held up the finished creation, "How does it look?"

"Beautiful, Butterfly," Kelly answered her and Libby beamed with delight at the nickname. It had started with Lily, but quickly spread out to all the members of her family. Her parents were the two who used it the most, which gave it a special meaning.

"Can we make another one?" Libby asked excitedly as Kelly reached for the cake. With one arm out of the cast, and the other arm being a lot more mobile now after her latest doctor's appointment, Kelly was a lot more independent. She was still in the chair, but she could wheel herself around and do simple chores with a little help from Libby, Alex or Hunter.

"Your birthday's in a few weeks," Kelly told her. "How about I help you bake your own cake?"

"A butterfly cake?"

"Uh… we'll try," Kelly nodded.

"Can we worry about fancy cakes later?" Alex called from the dinner table, where he and Hunter were waiting patiently, "I would like to eat my cake now, please?"

"It's coming," Kelly chuckled. She looked at Libby, "Can you just get the knife for the cake?"

Libby shook her head, "Dad says I can't touch the knives."

Kelly turned to Hunter with a frown. He gave her a look.

"Do you really trust her with a knife?"

Kelly glared, "She has no intention of killing anyone. I, on the other hand, have been sleeping on the couch for the last month and a half because you refuse to carry me upstairs to bed at night."

"Libby, the ban on knives has been lifted," Hunter told his daughter. He turned back to Kelly, "Can I get a heads up when you're able to chase after me? I would like to have enough time to hide."

"Deal," Kelly nodded. She rolled over to the table with the cake in her lap. She then placed it down on the table before Alex as Libby walked over with the knife. She carefully laid it down on the table and made sure not to hurt herself or anyone else with it.

Hunter grabbed the knife and handed it to Alex, "You may cut the cake."

Alex licked his lips as he cut out a small piece of cake and stuck it on the dessert plate. He looked at the remaining cake on the tray.

"I'm going to need a really big fork for my piece."

"You're not eating the entire cake," Kelly frowned. Alex pouted. His dreams had just been dashed. Kelly was a terrible mother.

"Fine," he grumbled. He cut another slice of cake and grabbed a fork, "But know that in the middle of the night I will sneak down for more."

"Me too!" Libby exclaimed excitedly as she waved her arm around. "I will too!"

Libby then giggled and pointed to the cake, "Look, with the pieces cut out, it spells tulati le," she looked at Alex, "Your name is Le."

Alex smiled at first, but Libby's giggling continued. She seemed very amused by the new 'words' created through the cutting of the cake. He frowned as she continued to mock his 'new name'."

"Le. Hi, Le… you have a funny name."

"Shut up," Alex pouted.

"Le, Le, Le, Le…"

"Libby…"

"Le!" Libby bounced in her seat, "Le!"

"Hunter! Kelly! She won't stop!"

"Le!"

"Libby!"

"Le!"

"You know what your name would spell if it were cut on the cake?" Alex said. "BB. BB. BB! That's not even close to being a word."

"Le!"

"BB!"

"Le!"

"BB."

Kelly rubbed her temples as she listed to the back and forth between her son and daughter. Hunter leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. A smile was painted on his face.

"Why are you so frustrated? You wanted to adopt them."

"You let me."


	70. Forever and Always

It had been a few month since Blake fell in love with Tori. Actually, it had been a few years since he had fallen in love with her. Almost eight years, to be exact. It had been a few months since he had asked her out and finally got to claim her as his own. She was his girl.

Their relationship was almost perfect in Blake's eyes. Both would spend the days doing their own thing, and occasionally some nights. But on most nights, they would meet up, either at her place, or at his, and they would be together. It wasn't necessarily sex every night, unlike how Dr. K made it out to be. Most nights they were perfectly content sitting in each other's arms and watching a movie, or simply talking about their days.

In the mornings, they would wake up, eat breakfast together, and then part for work for the day. But they would always come back to each other.

Due to Tori's job, there was no moving in together. The Blue Rangers had to settle with different living quarters. But that didn't stop them from feeling like they were truly together. The only thing missing was the ring on Tori's finger; the ring that would make everything perfect.

He had been thinking about this for a long time now. It had been a while since Hayley joined the RPM team, and that was nothing but good news for Blake, as it meant Tori had a lot more time to spend with him. Hayley also had many ideas for the Rangers' training, which was moving them up the progress ladder at a much faster pace. Dr. K admitted that the training was far ahead of schedule, and that in a matter of weeks, there would be no more need for Tori or Hayley, as the Rangers will have learned everything they needed too from veterans, and it would be time for them to take matters into their own hands.

But, Tori was still working, which played to Blake's advantage. He had lied to her this morning when they parted. He told her he was going to help Cam and Shane finish the building of the Ninja Academy (with Pai Zhuq elements), when in reality, he was going shopping for something special. Cam, Shane, and even Dustin knew about his plans for a few reasons. First of all: they lived with Blake; secondly: Blake needed them to cover for him if Tori were to ask them where he was; and finally: Blake thought it wise to ask her 'older brothers' before he committed himself to her for eternity.

As he stepped into the jeweller's he realised he had no idea what he was looking for. Well, he knew that the rings were the little round stuff, and he knew that getting a blue jewel was probably best, but aside from that, he was completely clueless. He let out a long sigh and was about to ask for help from the jeweller when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. He turned and saw his older brother standing there with a smirk.

"Well, well, well," Hunter said, "Either you and Tori hit a special anniversary, or you're about to create one."

Blake didn't exactly know how to respond, so he nodded.

Hunter wasn't about to let Blake off easy. He was the big brother after all. His job was to make Blake's life a living hell.

"You realise that's my ex you're about to propose to, right?" he teased as he plastered a serious look on his face. Blake's eyes widened as he realised something. He forgot to make sure it was okay with his brother! Under normal circumstances, he would have been asking Hunter if he was ready for this kind of commitment, or if he believed Tori was actually the one. But nothing was never normal for Blake.

"I… I… but you're… and I thought… but… I…"

"Relax, bro," Hunter chuckled and removed his hand from Blake's shoulder, "I'm just teasing. I've moved on from her, remember? Now she's more like a pesky sister than anything. A sister who knows more than any sister should…"

"So you're cool?" Blake asked. Hunter nodded his head.

"Definitely. Tori's always been yours, bro. Anyways, there's a reason I'm in here."

Blake frowned until he realised Hunter was right. Both Bradleys were standing inside the jeweller's. There must have been a reason Hunter bothered himself to step inside; a reason that went beyond just saying hello to his baby brother. Blake's lips curled up into a smile as he looked at his brother.

"You're not…"

"We live together, we have two teenage kids… there's kinda something missing, don't you think?"

"But isn't this a little fast for you?" Blake asked his brother. "I mean, for me it's technically been years. For you… it's been a few months at most!"

Hunter shrugged and nodded, "You have a point, but a few months ago I was ready to do anything to make a marriage work with a woman I didn't love as much as I love Kelly. I think that's saying something," Blake nodded his head, at which Hunter continued, "Anyways; I'm twice as scared this time around as I was last. What if Kelly says no?"

"She's still in the chair, right?" Blake asked. Hunter nodded.

"The casts were removed a few days ago, but her physiotherapist wants her in the chair most of the time until we get her crutches so she doesn't reinjure herself."

"Well, wheel her down the aisle before she builds up her strength again," Blake teased. Hunter shoved his brother playfully.

"I hope you're not going to do that with Tori."

"Are you kidding? There's only one Ninja better than Tori… and it's not me. I couldn't force her to do anything she didn't want to do."

Hunter smiled before he walked past his brother and looked down at the glass containing the engagement rings. He pointed to one and pulled his brother over.

"Word of advice: don't get that one," Hunter suggested. "It looks a lot like the one I bought her. That would be a little weird."

"Thanks," Blake nodded. There weren't very many blue jewels, but that's what he wanted. Nothing would suit his potential bride to be better than blue. She wore it well, and the fact that he and she were both Blue Rangers only added to the significance behind the ring.

Hunter minded his own business. He wanted to play his brotherly role and help Blake find the perfect ring, but it occurred to him that if he were to make any suggestions, and if Blake were to pick them, then the ring Tori would forever be wearing on her finger would have been chosen by her ex.

But Hunter had seen the perfect ring for Blake and Tori (not that he was looking. It just popped out at him). He guided his brother over to it subtlety.

"Think Tori would like that green one over there?" he asked as he pointed to the ring right beside the perfect choice. Blake frowned as he looked at Hunter's suggestion. He shook his head.

"Are you…" his eyes fell on the ring beside it. It was silver with a blue sapphire. The shade of blue was light enough not to be navy, but darker than Tori's usual blue. It was the perfect middle between their two blues. He pointed to the glass and looked up to the jeweller, "Can I look at that one?"

Hunter grinned as he went back to his own search, Blake or Tori would never have to know.

The jeweller pulled out the ring and carefully handed it to Blake.

"Before you get too attached, may I remind you that the three-month monetary points system is long over and that anything you spend will be coming from your pockets or bank account and not from Corinth city?"

"I don't care," Blake shook his head, "It's perfect."

Hunter looked up at his brother. He was certainly in love.

He looked back down at the tank of rings before his eyes fell on his perfect choice. He placed his finger on the glass.

"When you're done with my brother, I want that one!"

-Fight-Flight-

"Shoo! Shoo!" Hayley said to the RPM Rangers as she rushed them upstairs. Blake was coming over to spend the night with Tori, and he had phoned in advance to ask Hayley a favour. He wanted her and the Rangers out of their way for the night and he had told Hayley exactly why.

While the red-headed genius was still new to the group, she was excited for Tori and Blake and she wanted to make sure nothing would ruin their perfect night. She had bonded well with Tori over the few months she had been working with her and she knew Tori deserved this.

"I don't want to watch a movie," Flynn pouted. Unlike Hayley, the Rangers weren't aware of Blake's plans. She was afraid they would somehow ruin it.

"Remember what I taught you," Hayley frowned. "Sometimes I Ranger has to make sacrifices for the greater good."

"Isn't this Tori and Blake's movie night too?" Summer asked. "All they do on the couch is cuddle. Can't we sit with them and all watch the same movie?"

"No," Hayley stated flatly. She shoved the Rangers into Summer's room, where a TV had been installed for the night. Her bed had been turned into a little couch, and chairs had been brought up from the main floor to make the evening a little more comfortable for the Rangers. Snacks and drinks were also inside the room to keep the Rangers from interrupting Blake and Tori.

"I guess it would depend on the movie," Scott said. "What do we have planned for the night?"

Hayley pulled out an old martial arts movie, "It was the only thing Dr. K would let you guys watch. He wants to make you better Rangers through observational learning."

"Karate kid?" Scott asked as he read the cover of the movie.

"Wax on, wax off," Flynn chuckled.

"I've never seen it," Summer frowned.

"There, you boys can laugh at Summer," Hayley finally shoved the three Rangers into their seats and closed the bedroom door. Everything was ready.

Downstairs, Tori was getting ready for her date night by herself. Neither Hayley nor Summer were there to help her with her hair or clothes. Though, at this stage, Tori didn't really care how she looked. She knew Blake loved her and she him. All that mattered was that they were together.

She finished just in time as Blake walked into the Garage. The ring was tucked safely inside his pocket. In his arms, he cradled a bouquet of roses; all red for love. He gave them to her and kissed her on the cheek.

A little disappointed that was the greeting she received, Tori placed the roses in a vase. She asked what the occasion was, but Blake quickly changed the topic and asked if she had anything planned for dinner. Tori nodded and pointed to the stove, where Hayley had already gotten started on a meal. Blake grinned. Things were going just as planned.

-Fight-Flight-

"I don't understand why you and mom have to get married," Libby frowned as she watched her father run around the house and fix the place up. Hunter had filled her and Alex in on his plans so they wouldn't ruin anything, and he had quickly explained to Libby what marriage was. She, however, was still confused, "Aren't you already married?"

"You would think," Hunter chuckled. He arranged the throw pillows on the couch and turned to his daughter, "We've been a family for a long time now… the four of us, I mean… I just want to make it official. I want everything to be done right, and I want Kelly to know that I'm not just here because of this family…"

"But you are," Alex teased.

"I'm here because she means everything to me," Hunter said. "I'll do anything to make her happy. Even if that means adopting a butt ugly teenage boy who eats all my food."

Alex put down the bag of chips, "Hey!"

"What?' Hunter smirked.

Alex crossed his arms, "I'm almost a man, you know!" he pointed to his upper lip, "Do you see what's growing there?"

Libby leaned in and inspected her brother's lip. She shook her head.

"Don't worry, Alex, there's nothing there."

Alex looked at her, "Don't you see it? Right there! Can't you see the start of a moustache?"

"What's a moustache?"

"Hair on the upper lip," Hunter explained. Libby nodded and turned back to Alex. She looked closely one last time and shook her head.

"I don't see it."

"That's because it's not there," Hunter teased his son. Alex pouted and went back to eating up all the chips.

"What are Libby and I supposed to do while you try the moves on our mother?" he asked. "I'm not staying in my room all night babysitting the hyperactive Butterfly."

"Find something to do," Hunter shrugged. "Just stay out of my hair."

"Can I go out for the night?" Alex asked. Hunter shrugged again and nodded.

"Sure."

"Can I go out without Libby?"

"What's she going to do?"

"I don't know," Alex said. "She can entertain herself, you know."

"And what will you be doing without your sister?" Hunter asked.

Alex bit his lip, "Koko asked me to the movies. I told her I would check with you or Kelly first."

"Are you sure she didn't ask for you and Libby?" Hunter asked absent-mindedly as he searched for the remote. He had to make sure it wasn't hiding under the couch cushions or in any other location where pressure from a butt, or foot, or anything would cause it to turn on the TV suddenly. It happened.

"I'm pretty sure," Alex smirked.

"You should bring your sister along," Hunter suggested. He still wasn't paying attention. He couldn't see the excited look on Alex' face as the teenage thought about going to the movies with Koko.

"I don't want to go," Libby frowned and shook her head, "Alex and Koko have been really friendly lately. They act a lot like you and mom!"

"That's nice."

Alex blinked and turned to Libby. His sister was also a little surprised. Hunter wasn't paying attention to her at all.

"Hunter's clueless, Libs. That's why I wanted to ask Kelly. She would coo and oh and aw, but at least she would understand that I wanted to go on a date with Koko!"

Alex said that last part with a little more power, hoping to get the message across to Hunter. The crimson Ranger looked up as he clued in.

"Oh… that's what… okay, okay. If it will get you out of the house for the night, sure."

"Yes!" Alex pumped his fists into the air.

"But," Hunter added, "can you drop Libby off at the kitten's loft for the night?"

"I get to see my Aunts and Uncles?" Libby asked excitedly. Hunter nodded.

"Yes, yes!" He hurried to the door while pulling his kids along. He could hear Dustin's car pulling into the driveway. Dustin was dropping Kelly off at home after her shift at work. Storm Chargers was now open for business and Kelly and Dustin had the closing shift so Dustin offered to bring her home. It worked out perfectly for Hunter. He grabbed the kids' sweaters and shoes, "Now get out of the house and don't come home! Go, go, go!"

-Fight-Flight-

Blake fiddled nervously with the ring in his pocket as he listened to Tori talk over dinner. Normally he would be hanging on her every word, but the moment was drawing closer, and, ironically enough, Blake's nerves were keeping him from being a good boyfriend.

Tori noticed and cut herself off. She waved her hand in front of Blake's face.

"You still home?" she laughed.

Blake shook his head which snapped himself back to reality. He nodded and smiled at Tori.

"Yeah… I was just thinking about something."

"About what?" Tori asked.

Blake took her hand and held it gently, "Just… us. How hard we worked at this and how perfectly it all worked out."

"If it's meant to be, it'll be," Tori nodded. "Fate was probably having a laugh with my wedding to your brother. Boy, that could have ended badly."

Blake chuckled, "Yeah… hey, about that… the whole wedding stuff… your ruined one hasn't turned you away from them… has it?"

"Not really," Tori shook her head. "I'll be keeping my eye on Kelly next time though. Why?"

"I was just thinking…" Blake pulled the ring out of his pocket and closed his hand over it. He placed his closed fist on the table and looked into Tori's blue eyes. He was a little surprised when notice they matched the ring exactly. He smiled, "It's nice to know these things before we get started on the plans for our own wedding."

"I guess," Tori said. She then did a mental double take and stumbled over her next words, "W-wait… w-w-what?"

Blake fell to his knees in front of Tori and presented the ring to her. She gasped loudly as Blake slid the ring on her finger. He knew he was jumping the gun slightly, but suddenly he was feeling very confident.

"You've been here before so I'll make it simple. Tori, will you marry me?"

-Fight-Flight-

Kelly honestly hadn't seen this coming. Hunter rushing around the house, making her favourite dinner and dessert, letting her eat on her favourite spot on the couch (it was the most comfy cushion) and doing everything possible to make her happy. She thought he had just taken some of her leftover medication and was on a bit of a high.

Now, she hoped that wasn't the case.

The answer was in her head, screaming loudly and doing everything it could to come out. But even though her mouth was open and her jaw was on the floor, sound wasn't coming out. Her answer was lost in translation. She never thought that would happen to her either.

"Kelly?" Hunter called her name. He wanted his answer. Yes or no. The wait was killing him and his knee was starting to hurt. "Babe…"

Kelly held up a finger and Hunter thought she was about to sneeze. Horrible timing. Just as he reached for the box of tissues beside the couch, Kelly leapt into his arms and wrapped her own around his neck.

"Yes!" the words finally came out.

-Fight-Flight-

As Blake laid in Tori's bed, with his beautiful fiancée wrapped perfectly in his arms, he couldn't help but wonder if Hunter had been as lucky as him.

Then he realised that was impossible. There was no one better than Tori. Not in his world.

He reached over and kissed the love of his life, pulling her gaze from the ring on her finger to his eyes. Tori smiled as she kissed his future-husband. He was hers, forever and always. This time she knew, without a doubt that her love for him was real.


	71. Speak Now

The world had ended. As much as they wanted, neither Kelly nor Tori could get their big dream wedding. There weren't many guests to invite, there was no perfect location. Both girls quickly realised they were going to have to settle for what they could have.

But that's the thing about falling in love. Neither woman cared.

They had gotten engaged on the same night. Both Bradley boys had planned the perfect evening for them before getting down on their knees and asking for their hands in marriage. Tori found it to be rather funny when she and Kelly shared their news. Kelly thought it was a little strange, but things worked out.

Tori and Blake had their wedding first. It had been an outdoor wedding on the sands of Corinth beach. The beach wasn't big, but neither was the wedding. The ninjas, the "kittens", and the RPM Rangers were the only guests. A few chairs in the sand and bright, colourful flowers decorated the area. A registered minister married the two ninjas and a party had been underway. But once the minster was gone, and everyone had a little alcohol inside them, Cam was forced into redoing the ceremony and marrying Blake and Tori in a traditional Ninja ritual.

Their special day over, Tori was needed back at the Ranger Garage to finish her last few weeks of duties with Dr. K and Hayley. It was a bummer for the newlyweds, as they couldn't go on their honeymoon, but the end of Tori's job training the new Rangers coincided perfectly with Kelly's final appointments with her physiotherapist. Not only had Kelly been extremely eager to get back on her feet to help take care of Libby, but with the ring on her finger, Kelly was even more determined to recover so she could walk herself down the aisle. She didn't want to be wheeled, she didn't want to limp. She wanted to walk on her own. Without help from a person, crutches, or anything.

Determination paid off.

Kelly stood unaided by Hunter's side at the front of the room with the minister before them. The minster looked around the room as he spoke

"… speak now or for…"

"Hold up," Tori stepped forward. Revenge would have been sweeter if she wasn't just a bridesmaid and was the maid of honour like Kelly had been at wedding number one (and three. Weddings and alcohol did not mix), but that role had been taken by Libby. But, Tori wanted to get her revenge one way or another.

"Are you kidding me?" Kelly groaned as she turned to look at Tori. Tori shrugged her shoulders.

"I really wish I was, Kel," she said. She turned to the minister, "I can't let you marry them."

"She's kidding," Hunter leaned forward and whispered to the minister. He wasn't in on Tori's plan, but he could only hope she was pulling Kelly's leg.

"Is there any reason why these two should not be wed?"

Tori shook her head, "You know… now that I think about it... if these guys don't get married then Blake and I are going to have to pay for the honeymoon on our own and... well, that's not happening. Proceed."

"I'm going to kill you later, Tor," Kelly chuckled as Tori stepped back in line. Tori grinned.

"I know."

-Fight-Flight-

After the wedding came the party. Just like at Tori and Blake's wedding, the party was rather eventful. While everyone had learned that Rangers and alcohol don't seem to mix very well and people wake up the following morning with fuzzy memories, they were still partying like there was no tomorrow, which was a possibility, considering the RPM Rangers had been called into a battle against one of Venjix' robots that had managed to infiltrate the city.

This didn't worry anyone still at the wedding. Hayley had gone to make sure everything was okay and would be at the Garage in case Dr. K or the Rangers needed any help. Tori was free to stay at the wedding and enjoy. After all, once the partying was done she was finally going to go on her honeymoon. No Venjix robot was going to stop her from doing so.

Over by the bar, Alex was leaning against the table, keeping his eyes on his parents. As soon as both of them had their backs turned, he was going to spike his own drink. He was at a wedding. He deserved a little something special in his drink. He got his chance when Hunter and Kelly walked over to Blake and Tori to talk about the honeymoon. Alex quickly grabbed a small bottle of rum. He was about to pour it in when he heard someone approaching him. He spun around and hid the bottle and his drink behind his back.

"Lily, hey… I didn't know you were legal…"

"Only just," Lily smirked. She reached around Alex and grabbed the alcohol, "C'mon, kiddo, I know it's tempting but someone's got to keep an eye on Libby while Hunter and Kelly are away."

"There's Fran," Alex suggested, "And you, and Theo, and Casey, and RJ and Dom."

Lily bit her lip and glanced over her shoulder quickly at her former Ranger teammates. Alex was right. While Hunter and Kelly were gone on their honeymoon, the kids were staying with them.

"Alright, fine," Lily whispered, "But don't tell the guys I'm the one who let you."

"Sweet!" Alex grinned and he hugged Lily, "You're the best!"

"Shh!" Lily chuckled, "If anyone asks, I tried to be the responsible one and said no."

"Right," Alex let go of Lily as she handed him his bottle back. Lily shook her head and walked away so she didn't have to actually witness Alex defy his parents' orders.

She walked over to Casey, who pulled her into his arms. Even after a few months of therapy, he was still very protective of her at big gatherings. He was always making sure she was okay, and he was always reminding her there was nothing to be scared of. Even if Lily told him that she had worked on being in big crowds and leaving her safety zone with her therapist with huge success, he still took care of her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her gently. She leaned in closer to him. While she was slightly annoyed at his constant need to check up on her, she did enjoy being wrapped in his arms.

"I told you, Case," she said, "I'm fine with these gatherings now. Everyone here is a friend. Unless some robot army comes after me, there's no need to worry."

"I can't help it," Casey shrugged. "I can still hear you screaming in your dreams at night. I worry those will send you back, and you'll be too afraid to tell us."

Lily lowered her gaze and pulled away from Casey, "Thanks…"

Casey's eyes widened, "I… I didn't mean it like that. You're brave and smart, Lil, but… that's just what I worry about."

"I'm fine, Casey. The nightmares might last a long time, but I know how to handle myself now. Therapy was a big help, and I have you to thank for that."

"You're welcome," Casey smiled and he leaned into kiss Lily.

A few feet away, RJ had been watching the couple with mixed emotions. On one hand, he felt like he had missed out on something with Lily. He had been the one to initially be taking care of her, and some feelings had formed between the cheetah and the wolf. While nothing ever came from those feelings, RJ couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if Casey didn't step in the way.

But the tiger and the cheetah were mated, and while RJ was left to wonder, he couldn't help but be happy for his two cubs. After all, he only wanted Lily to be happy and safe, and he was content with taking on the role of mentor or older brother.

Speaking of, RJ wanted to have a little fun. He made his way over to the couple and "accidentally" bumped into them.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled as he tried to act like it was a drunken mistake. The beer in his hand helped his story, but Casey and Lily both knew he was only teasing.

At the dinner tables, Libby was sitting with Dom, as he taught her how to map swans out of napkins. She watched as he worked, completely amazed at how he could turn something so flimsy into an animal.

"I learned that when I was in Japan," Dominic said. He handed her a napkin so she could try her hand at the origami.

"What's Japan?"

"A country."

"What's a country?"

Dom shook his head, "You don't have a geography or history class, do you?"

"What?"

"Never mind," Dom chuckled. He guided Libby's hands as she worked at creating her own swan napkin.

Theo took a seat next to the two, completely worn out. Fran had wanted to dance the night away and he had been selected as her dancing partner. Even after Lily's dancing lessons, Theo was not a dancer. His idea of a good time at a party was talking with the guys and cleaning up afterwards. The former blue Ranger let out a long breath, which blew over Libby's origami swan the moment she finished. The blonde pouted, crossed her arms and walked off with the napkin, hoping to find somewhere safer for her little creature.

"Tired?" Dominic asked when Libby was gone. Theo nodded his head.

"Fran won't stop," he said. "Song after song after song… didn't Hunter and Kelly plan for any slow songs?"

"You want to slow dance with Fran?"

"It's better than running around after her trying to keep up. Did you know she loved to dance?"

"I figured that out in Europe," Dominic nodded. "Don't ever go to parties with Fran when she's out of her shell."

"I'll say," Theo slumped into his seat, "Can we go home now?"

"Come on, Theo!" Fran called as she rushed over and grabbed his hand. She pulled him out of his chair, "I love this song and Casey and Lily promised they would dance with us!"

_Help me,_ Theo mouthed to Dom as he was pulled away. Dom laughed and waved goodbye to the blue Ranger. Weddings were fun.

Over by the big table, Libby just finished her swan origami when she realised her swan was very lonely. There were no other swans for her to play with. She looked across the room. Many of the napkins on the table were used. Libby didn't want to touch those. However, at the boys' table, the use of napkins was an absurd idea. Dustin and Shane had two stained ties, but also two untouched napkins and Cam was far from being a messy eater, so his napkin was also clean. The girl bounced up while promising her swan she would be back soon and she approached the boys.

She held out her hand, "Napkins, please."

"Are you the cleanup crew, Libs?" Shane chuckled as he handed her his napkin. Libby shook her head.

"Master Dom taught me how to make swans," she explained, "but my swan is lonely and she needs some friends."

"Kids," Dustin smirked as he too gave Libby his napkin. He watched as Libby bounced off happily and turned to the guys, "She's making quick progress, though. She's growing up right before our eyes."

"It was bound to happen," Cam nodded. "The young mind is like a sponge. I think Libby's got the advantage, though. An older body with a young mind."

"Like that whole, learning a new language is easier when you're little thing? They just pick up on it?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

Dustin tapped his chin, "Maybe I can teach Libby a foreign language and use that against Hunter and Kelly…"

"If you want your job back at Storm Chargers, I doubt you'll try," Shane chuckled.

"That would also involve you learning another language, Dustin," Cam added. "Dude-speak does not count."

"What if I don't want a job at Storm Chargers?" Dustin asked. He quickly turned to Cam, "Wait… the sensei job… is it a paying one?"

"Was it ever a paying job?" Cam frowned. Dustin shook his head and sighed.

"No?"

"So why would I start paying you now?" Cam smirked.

"Face it, bro," Shane chuckled as he placed his hand on Dustin's shoulder, "You're going to have to kiss Hunter and Kelly's asses for the rest of your life."

"Or at least until retirement," Cam said.

Dustin leaned back in his chair, "I should have gone to college."

On the dance floor, Theo finally got his wish. The music stopped for a moment before a slow song started up. Tired from dancing all night, Fran walked off to find a seat and Theo, Casey and Lily followed her.

Hunter held out his hand to Kelly, "It's time. May I have this dance?"

Kelly shook her head jokingly, "No."

"Come on," Hunter smiled. He gently pulled Kelly to her feet and led her to the dance floor. As the two danced together, Blake and Tori watched, remembering their wedding. Tori leaned her head on Blake's shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Reminds me of the day we got married," Blake joked, trying to make a distant memory from an event that happened only a few weeks ago. Tori laughed and played along.

"Times were much simpler, then," she said. "It was marriage, then a house, and then kids together. I don't know what those crazy old folks are doing by mixing everything up and doing things backwards."

"Speaking of a house," Blake turned to Tori, "When does Dr. K kick you out of the Garage?"

"A few days after the honeymoon," Tori sighed. "I regret asking Hayley to join. She's good at this Ranger mentoring thing."

"Maybe that doesn't have to be a bad thing," Blake smirked. "Technically, Corinth city owes you, right? I mean, you did train the defenders of the universe, and for a while you were a prisoner while doing so."

"Yeah, so?"

"So… maybe we can bribe city hall into giving us a place of our own," Blake suggested. "What do you say?"

"You want to bribe city hall?" Tori frowned.

"It's that, or you move in with me, Cam, Shane and Dustin."

"City hall, huh?" Tori grinned, "I think it might be doable."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Hunter asked his bride as they spun slowly on the dance floor. He was looking over Kelly's shoulder at Blake and Tori. He couldn't turn his older-brother mode off, even after Blake got married, and he constantly needed to make sure his ex-girlfriend was treating his baby brother right.

"Does it matter?" Kelly asked him as she tried to bring his attention back to her. "They aren't over there asking each other about us."

"Sorry," Hunter smiled. He looked down at Kelly, "They kind of creep me out though. I mean, I…"

"Can we not talking about your little brother and your ex-bride at our wedding, please?" Kelly frowned. "It's bad enough Tori and I attended each other's weddings."

"I thought you two were over that?" Hunter said. "In fact, I thought you two were back to being friends only a little while after the whole first-wedding-fiasco."

"We were," Kelly nodded. "Sort of. We're friends now, anyways. But still, it's not a good sign when the groom can't take his eyes off his ex-girlfriend as his wedding… for more than one reason."

"To be fair, my eyes were on my brother."

Kelly looked at Hunter, "You know… I would rather they be on Tori."

"Not in that…" Hunter glared playfully at his new wife, "You're having fun with this, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little," Kelly smirked. She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed her husband, "But you're having fun too."

"You had this planned all along, didn't you?" Hunter grinned.

Kelly nodded her head. Sarcastically, she answered, "Yes. When I stopped your wedding with Tori I planned on turning all my friends against me, getting robbed, having you hate my guts for a few months, the world ending, adopting a kid with an amputated leg, fighting constantly with you and then suddenly starting a family with you, being wheelchair bound and immobile and then getting married. It was all up here."

She tapped her head playfully as she looked at Hunter, "I had it all thought out before your wedding."

"It worked out," Hunter shrugged. "Was it worth it?"

Kelly smiled. She leaned into Hunter and wrapped her arms around his waist while she rested her head against his chest. Hunter pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head.

"I didn't hear an answer from you."

"Definitely worth it."

-Fight-Flight-

So don't say yes, run away now  
I'll meet you when you're out  
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow  
You need to hear me out  
When they, said, "speak, now"

And you say  
Let's run away now  
I'll meet you when  
I'm out of my tux at the back door

Baby, I didn't say my vows  
So glad you were around when they said  
"Speak now"

Speak Now – Taylor Swift

_Author's Note: Well, that was one long ass story from just listening to that song one day. This marks the end of my "Road to Recovery Series" (yes, that was the name for it, I just never announced it). Hopefully now I'll have a little more time to focus on writing something else, which I hope will be Samurai related._

_Thank you to everyone to read and left me their feedback._

_The End_


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